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NGC 3921
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NGC 3921
NGC 3921, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationUrsa Major
Right ascension11h 51m 06.863s[1]
Declination+55° 04′ 43.38″[1]
Redshift0.019667[2]
Heliocentric radial velocity5896 km/s[2]
Distance277.9 Mly (85.19 Mpc)[3]
Apparent magnitude (V)12.64[4]
Apparent magnitude (B)13.4[4]
Absolute magnitude (V)−22.09[5]
Characteristics
Type(R')SA0/a(s) pec[2]
Size180,200 ly (55,240 pc)[2][note 1]
Apparent size (V)2.1 × 1.3
Other designations
Arp 224, UGC 6823, MGC+09-20-009, PGC 37063

NGC 3921 is an interacting galaxy in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. Estimates using redshift put it at about 59 million light years (18 megaparsecs) from Earth.[3] It was discovered on 14 April 1789 by William Herschel,[6] and was described as "pretty faint, small, round" by John Louis Emil Dreyer, the compiler of the New General Catalogue.[7]

NGC 3921 is the remnant of a galaxy merger. The two progenitor galaxies are thought to have been disk galaxies that collided about 700 million years ago.[8] The image shows noticeable star formation and structures like loops, indicative of galaxies interacting.[8] Because of this, NGC 3921 was included in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies under the designation Arp 224.[4]

Being a starburst galaxy, NGC 3921 has important features. One of them is an ultraluminous X-ray source, designated X-2, with an X-ray luminosity of 8×1039 erg/s.[9] Additionally, two candidate globular clusters have been detected within NGC 3921.[5] They are both fairly young, and about half as massive as Omega Centauri, demonstrating that mergers of gas-rich galaxies can also create more metal-rich globular clusters.[5]

References

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Notes

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