NGC 2968

NGC 2968
NGC 2968 imaged by SDSS
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationLeo
Right ascension09h 43m 12.0423s[1]
Declination+31° 55′ 43.503″[1]
Redshift0.005132±0.00000919[1]
Heliocentric radial velocity1,539±3 km/s[1]
Distance45.69 ± 13.40 Mly (14.010 ± 4.107 Mpc)[1]
Group or clusterNGC 7329 group (LGG 462)
Apparent magnitude (V)12.9g[1]
Characteristics
TypeSB C[2]
Size~35,200 ly (10.78 kpc) (estimated)[1]
Apparent size (V)1.89′ × 1.30′[1]
Other designations
2MASX J09431201+3155438, UGC 5190, MCG +05-23-029, PGC 27800, CGCG 152-058[1]

NGC 2968 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Leo. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 1,804±19 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 86.8 ± 6.1 Mly (26.61 ± 1.88 Mpc).[1] However, five non-redshift measurements give a much closer mean distance of 45.69 ± 13.40 Mly (14.010 ± 4.107 Mpc).[3] It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 7 December 1785.[4][5]

NGC 2968 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.[6][2]

Supernova

One supernova has been observed in NGC 2968:

  • SN 1970L (Type Ib/c,[7] mag. 15.5) was discovered by Swiss astronomer Paul Wild on 31 October 1970.[8][9] The supernova was found on the connecting bridge between NGC 2968 and NGC 2970, implying that the progenitor of SN 1970L was likely to have been accelerated by the tidal interaction of the two galaxies.[7]

Compact galaxy group

NGC 2968, NGC 2970, and NGC 2964 comprise the compact galaxy group known as RSCG 34.[10][11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Results for object NGC 2968". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. NASA and Caltech. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  2. ^ a b "NGC 2968". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  3. ^ "Distance Results for NGC 2968". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. NASA. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  4. ^ Herschel, William (1789). "Catalogue of a Second Thousand of New Nebulae and Clusters of Stars; with a Few Introductory Remarks on the Construction of the Heavens". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 79: 212–255. Bibcode:1789RSPT...79..212H. doi:10.1098/rstl.1789.0021.
  5. ^ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue Objects: NGC 2968". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  6. ^ Asmus, D.; Greenwell, C. L.; Gandhi, P.; Boorman, P. G.; Aird, J.; Alexander, D. M.; Assef, R. J.; Baldi, R. D.; Davies, R. I.; Hönig, S. F.; Ricci, C.; Rosario, D. J.; Salvato, M.; Shankar, F.; Stern, D. (2020). "Local AGN survey (LASr): I. Galaxy sample, infrared colour selection, and predictions for AGN within 100 MPC". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 494 (2): 1784. arXiv:2003.05959. Bibcode:2020MNRAS.494.1784A. doi:10.1093/mnras/staa766.
  7. ^ a b Zinn, P.-C.; Grunden, P.; Bomans, D. J. (2011). "Supernovae without host galaxies?. Hypervelocity stars in foreign galaxies". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 536. arXiv:1109.4717. Bibcode:2011A&A...536A.103Z. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201117631.
  8. ^ Wild, P. (1970). "Supernova on NGC 2968-2970 bridge". International Astronomical Union Circular (2287): 1. Bibcode:1970IAUC.2287....1W.
  9. ^ "SN 1970L". Transient Name Server. IAU. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  10. ^ "RSCG 34". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  11. ^ Barton, Elizabeth; Geller, Margaret; Ramella, Massimo; Marzke, Ronald O.; Da Costa, L. Nicolaci (1996). "Compact Group selection from Redshift Surveys". The Astronomical Journal. 112: 871. arXiv:astro-ph/9608091. Bibcode:1996AJ....112..871B. doi:10.1086/118060.
  • Media related to NGC 2968 at Wikimedia Commons
  • NGC 2968 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images