NGC 3079 is a barred spiral galaxy about 50 million light-years away, and located in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 1 April 1790.[3]
| NGC 3079 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 3079 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Right ascension | 10h 01m 57.9268s[1] |
| Declination | +55° 40′ 46.926″[1] |
| Redshift | 1116 ± 1 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 50 Mly[2] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.5[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SB(s)c[1] |
| Size | ~135,600 ly (41.58 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 7.9′ × 1.4′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| HOLM 156A, IRAS 09585+5555, UGC 5387, PGC 29050, CGCG 266-008[1] | |
A prominent feature of this galaxy is the "bubble" forming in the very center (see picture below). The supermassive black hole at the core has a mass of 2.4+2.4
−1.2×106 M☉.[4]
The SIMBAD database lists NGC 3079 as a Seyfert II Galaxy, i.e. it has a quasar-like nucleus with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.[5]
NGC 3079 is the namesake of the NGC 3079 Group (also known as LGG 188), which contains six galaxies.[6] The other galaxies in the group are NGC 3073, UGC 5421, UGC 5479, UGC 5459, and UGC 5460.[7] The galaxies NGC 3073 and NGC 3079 are also listed together as Holm 156 in Erik Holmberg's A Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937.[8]
Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 3079: SN 2001ci (type Ic, mag. 18.3),[9] and SN 2013ee (type II, mag. 15.5).[10]
Center Bubble
editThe bubble forming in the center of NGC 3079 is believed to be about 3000 light-years wide and to rise more than 3500 light-years above the disc of the galaxy. It is speculated that the bubble is being formed by particles streaming at high speeds, which were in turn caused by a large burst of star formation. This current bubble is thought to have been created about one million years ago, and computer modeling suggests that there is an ongoing cycle of forming bubbles, with a new bubble forming approximately every 10 million years.
Image gallery
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Hubble space telescope, (visible light) Seyfert galaxy NGC 3079. This image shows the lumpy bubble of hot gas located at the center of the NGC 3079 galaxy's disk -
NGC 3079 imaged by Kitt Peak National Observatory, 13 March 2014
.jpg)
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 3079. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
- ^ "Burst of Star Formation Drives Bubble in Galaxy's Core - Fast Facts". Retrieved 2007-10-06.
- ^ Seligman, Courtney. "NGC 3079". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Graham, Alister W. (November 2008), "Populating the Galaxy Velocity Dispersion - Supermassive Black Hole Mass Diagram: A Catalogue of (Mbh, σ) Values", Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia, 25 (4): 167–175, arXiv:0807.2549, Bibcode:2008PASA...25..167G, doi:10.1071/AS08013, S2CID 89905.
- ^ "NGC 3079". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 18 November 2024.
- ^ Shafi, N.; Oosterloo, T. A.; Morganti, R.; Colafrancesco, S.; Booth, R. (2015-12-01). "The "shook up" galaxy NGC 3079: the complex interplay between HI, activity and environment". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 454 (2): 1404–1415. arXiv:1509.00350. Bibcode:2015MNRAS.454.1404S. doi:10.1093/mnras/stv2034. S2CID 55595738.
- ^ Garcia, A. M. (1993). "General study of group membership. II. Determination of nearby groups". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 100: 47. Bibcode:1993A&AS..100...47G.
- ^ Holmberg, Erik (1937). "A Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems". Annals of the Observatory of Lund. 6: 1. Bibcode:1937AnLun...6....1H.
- ^ Transient Name Server entry for SN 2001ci. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ Transient Name Server entry for SN 2013ee. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
External links
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