NGC 3631

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NGC 3631
Hubble Looks at a Face-On Grand Spiral.jpg
NGC 3631 by Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Ursa Major
Right ascension 11h 21m 02.9s [1]
Declination 53° 10′ 10″ [1]
Redshift 1.156 ± 1 km/s [1]
Distance 33.7 ± 17.7 Mly (10.3 ± 5.4 Mpc) [1]
Apparent magnitude  (V)10.1
Characteristics
Type SA(s)c [1]
Apparent size  (V)5.0′ × 4.8′ [1]
Other designations
UGC 6360, Arp 27, MCG +09-19-047, VV 363, PGC 34767 [1]

NGC 3631 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of about 35 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3631 is about 60,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 14, 1789. [2] It is a grand design spiral galaxy seen face on.

Contents

Characteristics

NGC 3631 is a grand design spiral galaxy and features two principal spiral arms, which begin near the center. The two main arms branch into secondary arms with lower surface brightness. The galaxy shows moderate-to-high star formation rate and bright HII regions are present in all the arms. [3] The star formation rate of the galaxy is 4.6 M☉ per year. [4] Halton Arp observed "straight arms", and an "absorption tube crossing from inside to outside of southern arm" and added the galaxy to his Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. [5] At inclination of 17 degrees, [5] the galaxy is seen nearly face on.

The HI imaging shows the spiral arms distinguished well and HI is also detected in most of the interarm regions. The atomic hydrogen is detected mostly within the limits of the optical disc but also extends one and a half times the radius of the optical disk. The hydrogen forms streaming motions near the spiral arms. [6] The gas features two anticyclonic and four cyclonic vortices, rotating with the spiral pattern. The anticyclones are caused by the differential rotation and the cyclones are the result of a high amplitude in the density wave. The centres of the anticyclones are located between the observed spiral arms and the cyclones lie close to the observed spirals. [5]

NGC 3631 has weak diffuse X-ray emission. [7] There are six candidates ultraluminous X-ray sources in disk of the galaxy, two which have an optical counterpart. [8] The nucleus of the galaxy hosts a supermassive black hole with mass 107.4 (25 million) M☉, based on Ks bulge luminosity. [9]

Supernovae

Four supernovae have been discovered in NGC 3631: SN 1964A (mag. 17 [10] ), SN 1965L (mag. 15.95 [11] ), SN 1996bu, and SN 2016bau. SN 1996bu was a type II supernova discovered on November 14, 1996 and reached peak visual magnitude 17.3. [12] SN 2016bau was a type Ib supernova discovered before maximum light. [13] It was also observed in radio waves by the VLA as a radio source with a flux density of 1.0 ± 0.03 mJy at 8.6 GHz. [14]

Nearby galaxies

NGC 3631 forms a small group with NGC 3657, [15] which is part of the north Ursa Major groups, part of the Virgo Supercluster. [16]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3982</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 3982(also known as UGC 6918) is an intermediate spiral galaxy approximately 68 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 14, 1789, and misclassified as a planetary nebula. NGC 3982 is a part of the M109 Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6946</span> Galaxy in the constellations Cepheus & Cygnus

NGC 6946, sometimes referred to as the Fireworks Galaxy, is a face-on intermediate spiral galaxy with a small bright nucleus, whose location in the sky straddles the boundary between the northern constellations of Cepheus and Cygnus. Its distance from Earth is about 25.2 million light-years or 7.72 megaparsecs, similar to the distance of M101 in the constellation Ursa Major. Both were once considered to be part of the Local Group, but are now known to be among the dozen bright spiral galaxies near the Milky Way but beyond the confines of the Local Group. NGC 6946 lies within the Virgo Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4725</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4725 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy with a prominent ring structure, located in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices near the north galactic pole. It was discovered by German-born British astronomer William Herschel on April 6, 1785. The galaxy lies at a distance of approximately 40 megalight-years from the Milky Way. NGC 4725 is the brightest member of the Coma I Group of the Coma-Sculptor Cloud, although it is relatively isolated from the other members of this group. This galaxy is strongly disturbed and is interacting with neighboring spiral galaxy NGC 4747, with its spiral arms showing indications of warping. The pair have an angular separation of 24′, which corresponds to a projected linear separation of 370 kly. A tidal plume extends from NGC 4747 toward NGC 4725.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1566</span> Galaxy in the constellation Dorado

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7424</span> Galaxy in the constellation Grus

NGC 7424 is a barred spiral galaxy located 37.5 million light-years away in the southern constellation Grus. Its size makes it similar to our own galaxy, the Milky Way. It is called a "grand design" galaxy because of its well defined spiral arms. Two supernovae and two ultraluminous X-ray sources have been discovered in NGC 7424.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4102</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 4102 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. It is visible in a small telescope and has an apparent visual magnitude of 11.2. The galaxy was discovered April 12, 1789 by William Herschel. J. L. E. Dreyer described it as "bright, pretty small, round, brighter middle and bright nucleus". This galaxy is located at a distance of 60 million light years and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 837 km/s. It is a member of the Ursa Major group of galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4041</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 4041 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a spiral galaxy in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It is located an estimated 70 million light years from the Sun. The morphological classification of SA(rs)bc indicates this is a spiral galaxy the lacks a bar; the 'rs' means it has a weakly-formed ring structure, and the 'bc' indicates the spiral arms are moderately to loosely wound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1961</span> Galaxy in the constellation Camelopardis

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5643</span> Galaxy in the constellation Lupus

NGC 5643 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Lupus. Based on the tip of the red-giant branch distance indicator, it is located at a distance of about 40 million light-years. NGC 5643 has an active galactic nucleus and is a type II Seyfert galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4424</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4424 is a spiral galaxy located in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered February 27, 1865 by German astronomer Heinrich Louis d'Arrest. This galaxy is located at a distance of 13.5 million light years and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 442 km/s. It has a morphological class of SB(s)a, which normally indicates a spiral galaxy with a barred structure (SB), no inner ring feature (s), and tightly-wound spiral arms (a). The galactic plane is inclined at an angle of 62° to the line of sight from the Earth. It is a likely member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3191</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 3191 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of about 400 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3191 is about 115,000 light years across. The galaxy has been distorted and interacts with a companion 1.3 arcminutes to the west. An extremely blue tidal bridge lies between them. It was discovered by Gaia on 23 May 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4274</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4274 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is located at a distance of circa 45 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 4274 is about 95,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1785.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4699</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4699 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is located at a distance of about 65 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 4699 is about 85,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1786. It is a member of the NGC 4699 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3941</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 3941 is a barred lenticular galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of circa 40 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3941 is about 40,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1787.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3726</span> Galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 3726 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of circa 45 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3726 is about 85,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on February 5, 1788.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 6907</span> Galaxy in the constellation Capricornus

NGC 6907 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Capricornus. It is located at a distance of about 120 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 6907 is about 115,000 light-years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on July 12, 1784. The total infrared luminosity of the galaxy is 1011.03 L☉, and thus it is categorised as a luminous infrared galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 2525</span> Galaxy in the constellation Puppis

NGC 2525 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Puppis. It is located at a distance of about 70 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 2525 is about 60,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on February 23, 1791.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3393</span> Galaxy in the constellation Hydra

NGC 3393 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Hydra. It is located at a distance of circa 180 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3393 is about 140,000 light-years across. It was discovered by John Herschel on March 24, 1835. It is a Type II Seyfert galaxy, known to host two supermassive black holes, which are the nearest known pair of supermassive black holes to Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4096</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major

NGC 4096 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies about 35 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 4096 is approximately 80,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 9, 1788.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 3631. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  2. ↑ NGC 3631 cseligman.com
  3. ↑ Sandage, A., Bedke, J. (1994) The Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies. Volume I, Carnegie Institution of Washington
  4. ↑ Mineo, S.; Gilfanov, M.; Lehmer, B. D.; Morrison, G. E.; Sunyaev, R. (11 January 2014). "X-ray emission from star-forming galaxies – III. Calibration of the LX-SFR relation up to redshift z ≈ 1.3". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 437 (2): 1698–1707. arXiv: 1207.2157 . Bibcode:2014MNRAS.437.1698M. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stt1999 . S2CID   119190124.
  5. 1 2 3 Fridman, A. M.; Khoruzhii, O. V.; Polyachenko, E. V.; Zasov, A. V.; Sil'Chenko, O. K.; Moiseev, A. V.; Burlak, A. N.; Afanasiev, V. L.; Dodonov, S. N.; Knapen, J. H. (21 May 2001). "Gas motions in the plane of the spiral galaxy NGC 3631". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 323 (3): 651–662. arXiv: astro-ph/0012116 . Bibcode:2001MNRAS.323..651F. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2001.04218.x . S2CID   119517678.
  6. ↑ Knapen, J. H. (1 April 1997). "Atomic hydrogen in the spiral galaxy NGC 3631". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 286 (2): 403–414. arXiv: astro-ph/9612137 . Bibcode:1997MNRAS.286..403K. doi: 10.1093/mnras/286.2.403 . S2CID   13901223.
  7. ↑ Mineo, S.; Gilfanov, M.; Sunyaev, R. (1 November 2012). "X-ray emission from star-forming galaxies - II. Hot interstellar medium". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 426 (3): 1870–1883. arXiv: 1205.3715 . Bibcode:2012MNRAS.426.1870M. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21831.x . S2CID   85507925.
  8. ↑ Smith, Beverly J.; Swartz, Douglas A.; Miller, Olivia; Burleson, Jacob A.; Nowak, Michael A.; Struck, Curtis (1 June 2012). "ChAInGeS: The Chandra Arp Interacting Galaxies Survey". The Astronomical Journal. 143 (6): 144. arXiv: 1204.3194 . Bibcode:2012AJ....143..144S. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/143/6/144. S2CID   17427760.
  9. ↑ Dong, X. Y.; De Robertis, M. M. (March 2006). "Low-Luminosity Active Galaxies and Their Central Black Holes". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (3): 1236–1252. arXiv: astro-ph/0510694 . Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1236D. doi:10.1086/499334. S2CID   17630682.
  10. ↑ "1964A - The Open Supernova Catalog". sne.space. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  11. ↑ "1965L - The Open Supernova Catalog". sne.space. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  12. ↑ "1996bu - The Open Supernova Catalog". sne.space. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
  13. ↑ Granata, V.; Benetti, S.; Cappellaro, E.; Elias-Rosa, N.; Pastorello, A.; Tomasella, L.; Nascimbeni, V.; Ochner, P.; Tartaglia, L.; Terreran, G.; Turatto, M. (March 15, 2016). "Asiago spectroscopic and photometric observations of AT2016bau". The Astronomer's Telegram. 8818: 1. Bibcode:2016ATel.8818....1G.
  14. ↑ Kamble, Atish; Margutti, Raffaella; Alexander, Kate; Berger, Edo; Cantiello, Matteo; Challis, Pete; Chomiuk, Laura; Guidorzi, Christiano; Kirshner, Robert; Milisavljevic, Danny; De Mink, Selma; Parrent, Jerod; Soderberg, Alicia; Zapartas, Emmanouil; Zauderer, Ashley (April 5, 2016). "VLA observations of SN 2016bau of Type Ib in NGC 3631". The Astronomer's Telegram. 8911: 1. Bibcode:2016ATel.8911....1K.
  15. ↑ Makarov, Dmitry; Karachentsev, Igor (21 April 2011). "Galaxy groups and clouds in the local (z~ 0.01) Universe". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 412 (4): 2498–2520. arXiv: 1011.6277 . Bibcode:2011MNRAS.412.2498M. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18071.x . S2CID   119194025.
  16. ↑ "The Ursa Major Groups". www.atlasoftheuniverse.com.
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