| NGC 3977 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 3977 imaged bySDSS | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Right ascension | 11h 56m 07.1952s[1] |
| Declination | +55° 23′ 26.718″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.019370[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 5,807±5 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 287.4 ± 20.1 Mly (88.13 ± 6.17 Mpc)[1] |
| Group orcluster | Holm 304 |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.4[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | (R)SA(rs)ab?[1] |
| Size | ~156,600 ly (48.00 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.5′ × 1.4′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| HOLM 304B,NGC 3980,UGC 6909,MCG +09-20-034,PGC 37497,CGCG 269-017[1] | |
NGC 3977 is an unbarredspiral galaxy in theconstellation ofUrsa Major. Its velocity with respect to thecosmic microwave background is5,975±13 km/s, which corresponds to aHubble distance of 287.4 ± 20.1 Mly (88.13 ± 6.17 Mpc).[1] It was discovered by German-British astronomerWilliam Herschel on 13 April 1784.[2] It was also observed byLewis Swift on 16 April 1885, causing this galaxy to be listed twice in theNew General Catalogue, as both NGC 3977 and NGC 3980.[2]
NGC 3977 along withNGC 3972 are listed together asHolm 304 inErik Holmberg'sA Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937.[3] This grouping is purely optical, as NGC 3977 is about four times farther away than NGC 3972.[4]
TheSIMBAD database lists NGC 3977 as aLINER galaxy, i.e. a galaxy whose nucleus has an emission spectrum characterized by broad lines of weakly ionized atoms.[5]
Twosupernovae have been observed in NGC 3977:
Media related toNGC 3977 at Wikimedia Commons
