NGC 3997
Galaxy in the constellation Leo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 3997 is a peculiar barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Leo. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 5,078±22 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 244.3 ± 17.1 Mly (74.90 ± 5.25 Mpc).[1] Additionally, one non-redshift measurement gives a farther distance of 274.30 Mly (84.100 Mpc).[2] It was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on 19 February 1827.[3]
| NGC 3997 | |
|---|---|
NGC 3997 imaged by SDSS | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Leo |
| Right ascension | 11h 57m 48.2299s[1] |
| Declination | +25° 16′ 14.268″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.015914±0.0000170[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 4,771±5 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 274.30 Mly (84.100 Mpc)[2] |
| Group or cluster | NGC 3997 Group (LGG 260) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 14.02[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SBb pec[1] |
| Size | ~132,500 ly (40.61 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.7′ × 0.6′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| HOLM 308B, IRAS 11552+2532, 2MASX J11574822+2516142, UGC 6942, MCG +04-28-102, PGC 37629, CGCG 127-114[1] | |
NGC 3997 has a possible active galactic nucleus, i.e. it has a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars.[4][5]
