| NGC 3974 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 3974 imaged byPan-STARRS | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Crater |
| Right ascension | 11h 55m 40.174s[1] |
| Declination | −12° 01′ 38.431″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.019133[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 5736 ± 32 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 293.4 ± 20.7 Mly (89.96 ± 6.34 Mpc)[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.4[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | (R')SB0/a?(r)[1] |
| Size | ~80,500 ly (24.67 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.2′ × 1.1′[1][1] |
| Other designations | |
| 2MASX J11554013-1201386,MCG -02-31-001,PGC 37452[1] | |
NGC 3974 is alenticular galaxy in theconstellation ofCrater. Its velocity with respect to thecosmic microwave background is 6099 ± 41 km/s, which corresponds to aHubble distance of 89.96 ± 6.34Mpc (~293 millionlight-years).[1] However, onenon-redshift measurement gives a much closer distance of 56.6 Mpc (185 Mly).[2] It was discovered by British astronomerJohn Herschel on 9 March 1828.[3]
NGC 3974 is possibly aLINER galaxy, i.e. it has a type of nucleus that is defined by its spectral line emission which has weakly ionized or neutral atoms, while the spectral line emission from strongly ionized atoms is relatively weak.[1]
Onesupernova has been observed in NGC 3974:SN 2024gra (Type Ia, mag. 18.8625) was discovered by theAutomatic Learning for the Rapid Classification of Events (ALeRCE) on 16 April 2024.[4]
