NGC 3978
Sloan Digital Sky Survey image of spiral galaxy NGC 3978 (center) and NGC 3975 (right)
Observation data
ConstellationUrsa Major
Right ascension11hr 56m 10.320s
Declination+60d 31m 21.11s
Redshift0.033176
Heliocentric radial velocity9,946 km/s
Distance459 Mly (140.7 Mpc)
Apparent magnitude (V)13.4
Characteristics
TypeSABbc, HII, SABbc?
Size227,000 ly (approximately 69.62 kpc)
Apparent size (V)1.29 x 1.16 arcmin
Other designations
PGC 37502, UGC 6910, CGCG 292-047, MCG +10-17-105, 2MASX J11561045+6031300, 2MASS J11561030+6031209, HOLM 306A, IRAS 11535+6047, SDSS J115610.31+603121.1, NVSS J115610+603121, 6C B115332.3+604801, [TTL2012] 088320, NFGS 100, ASK 213392.0, MaNGA 01-617857, LEDA 37502

NGC 3978 is a large intermediate spiral galaxy with a bar[1] located in the constellation of Ursa Major.[2][3] It is located 460 million light-years away from the Solar System[4] and was discovered by William Herschel on March 19, 1790, but also observed by John Herschel on April 14, 1831.[5]

NGC 3978 has a luminosity class of II-III and it has a broad H II region which contains regions of ionized hydrogen.[4] In addition, it is categorized as a LINER galaxy by SIMBAD,[6] meaning its nucleus presents an emission spectrum which is characterized by broad lines of weakly ionized atoms.[6]

According to Vaucouleurs and Corwin, NGC 3978 and NGC 3975 form a galaxy pair with each other.[7]

Supernovae

Two supernovae were discovered in NGC 3978: SN 2003cq and SN 2008l.

SN 2003cq

SN 2003cq[8] was discovered on March 30, 2003, by British astronomer Ron Arbour.[9] It was located 32".0 east and 2".3 south of the nucleus with a magnitude of 17.1.[10] This supernova was Type Ia.[8][11]

SN 2008I

SN 2008I was discovered by astronomers P. Thrasher, W. Li, and A. V. Filippenko as part of Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) on January 2, 2008.[12] It was located 3".7 west and 10."4 north of the nucleus with magnitude of 19.1.[13] The supernova was Type II[14] which possibly resulted from a collapse of a massive star.[15]

References

  1. ^ "HyperLeda -object description". atlas.obs-hp.fr. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  2. ^ "NGC 3978 - Intermediate Spiral Galaxy in Ursa Major | TheSkyLive.com". theskylive.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  3. ^ Astronomy, Go. "NGC 3978 | galaxy in Ursa Major | NGC List | GO ASTRONOMY". Go-Astronomy.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  4. ^ a b "Your NED Search Results". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  5. ^ "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 3950 - 3999". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  6. ^ a b "NGC 3978 - LINER-type Active Galaxy Nucleus". simbad.u-strasbg.fr. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  7. ^ de Vaucouleurs, G.; de Vaucouleurs, A.; Corwin, H. G., Jr. (1976-01-01). Second reference catalogue of bright galaxies. Containing information on 4,364 galaxies with references to papers published between 1964 and 1975. Bibcode:1976srcb.book.....D.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b "SN 2003cq | Transient Name Server". www.wis-tns.org. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  9. ^ "Ron Arbour - Supernova hunter and astrophotographer". mstecker.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  10. ^ "Bright Supernovae - 2003". www.rochesterastronomy.org. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  11. ^ Pan, Yen-Chen (2020). "High-velocity Type Ia Supernova Has a Unique Host Environment". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 895: L5. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab8e47.
  12. ^ "SN 2008I". w.astro.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  13. ^ "Bright Supernovae - 2008". www.rochesterastronomy.org. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  14. ^ "SN 2008I | Transient Name Server". www.wis-tns.org. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
  15. ^ "Type II Supernovae - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
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