| NGC 3614 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 3614 by the 32-inch Schulman Telescope atMount Lemmon Observatory | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Right ascension | 11h 18m 21.3533s[1] |
| Declination | 45° 44′ 53.737″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.007769 ± 0.000005[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 2,329 ± 1km/s[1] |
| Distance | 120 ± 32Mly (36.9 ± 9.8Mpc)[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.6[2] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(r)c[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 4.6′ × 2.6′[2] |
| Other designations | |
| UGC 6318,CGCG 242-019,MCG +08-21-015,PGC 34561[1] | |
NGC 3614 is anintermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellationUrsa Major. It is located at a distance of about 120 millionlight years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3614 is about 150,000 light years across. It was discovered byWilliam Herschel on February 5, 1788.[3]
NGC 3614 is an intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus and traces of a faint bar.[4] However, there is no bar detected in the infrared images obtained by theSpitzer Space Telescope, with the galaxy's morphological type being characterised as SA(r)bc by the ARRAKIS study. The galaxy features a narrow inner ring measuring 0.47 by 0.24 arcminutes.[5] From the inner ring emerge two main, knotty and filamentary arms that start branching after three quarters of a revolution creating a multiple spiral arm pattern. ManyHII regions and star forming knots are visible in the arms.[6] The star formation rate of the galaxy is estimated to be 0.3M☉ per year.[7] The galactic disk extends 5′.4 in its major east–west axis and 3′ along its minor north–south axis.[8]
Adam Block discovered the galaxy has twostellar streams. The brighter stellar stream begins at the northern part of the galactic disk and extends 4′.6 at a position angle of 314° with respect to the nucleus of NGC 3614 (in the direction of galaxy 2MASSX J11180157+4547453). The stream is uniform in its brightness and devoid of any discernable structure. The second stream appears to be associated with galaxy SDSS J111838+454721.7. The total length of this stream is approximately 3′.8 at a position angle of 40°.[8] The galaxy could be the progenitor of the stream and both the trailing and leadingtidal tails are visible.[9]
NGC 3614 seems to form a pair with NGC 3614A, which lies at distance of 2.6 arcminutes, which appears diffuse and patchy,[10] however it is a background galaxy.[9] NGC 3614 forms a group withNGC 3583 andNGC 3595.[11]
This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under theCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license.
