| NGC 3079 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 3079 imaged by theHubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Right ascension | 10h 01m 57.9268s[1] |
| Declination | +55° 40′ 46.926″[1] |
| Redshift | 1116 ± 1 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 50Mly[2] |
| Group orcluster | NGC 3079 Group (LGG 188) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.5[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SB(s)c[1] |
| Size | ~135,600 ly (41.58 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 7.9′ × 1.4′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| HOLM 156A,IRAS 09585+5555,UGC 5387,PGC 29050,CGCG 266-008[1] | |
NGC 3079 is abarred spiral galaxy about50 millionlight-years away, and located in theconstellationUrsa Major. The galaxy was discovered by German-British astronomerWilliam Herschel on 1 April 1790.[3]
TheSIMBAD database lists NGC 3079 as aSeyfert II Galaxy, i.e. it has aquasar-like nucleus with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.[4]
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A prominent feature of this galaxy is the "bubble" forming in the very center (see image to left). Thesupermassive black hole at the core has a mass of2.4+2.4
−1.2×106 M☉.[5]
The bubble forming in the center of NGC 3079 is believed to be about 3000light-years wide and to rise more than 3500 light-years above the disc of the galaxy. It is speculated that the bubble is being formed by particles streaming at high speeds, which were in turn caused by a large burst ofstar formation. This current bubble is thought to have been created about one million years ago, and computer modeling suggests that there is an ongoing cycle of forming bubbles, with a new bubble forming approximately every 10 million years.[6]
NGC 3079 is the namesake of the NGC 3079 Group (also known asLGG 188), which contains six galaxies.[7] The other galaxies in the group areNGC 3073, UGC 5421, UGC 5479, UGC 5459, andUGC 5460.[8] The galaxies NGC 3073 and NGC 3079 are also listed together asHolm 156 inErik Holmberg'sA Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937.[9]
Twosupernovae have been observed in NGC 3079:
