NGC 6984 | |
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![]() NGC 6984 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope | |
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Indus |
Right ascension | 20h 57m 53.987s [1] |
Declination | −51° 52′ 15.13″ [1] |
Redshift | 0.015386 [1] |
Heliocentric radial velocity | 4577 km/s [1] |
Distance | 180 million ly [2] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.65 [1] |
Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.19 [1] |
Surface brightness | 22.82 mag/arcsec2 [3] |
magnitude (J) | 10.94 [3] |
magnitude (H) | 10.25 [3] |
magnitude (K) | 9.99 [3] |
Characteristics | |
Type | Spiral (SAc) [3] |
Apparent size (V) | 1.403 x 1.038 arcmin [1] |
Other designations | |
IRAS 20543-5203, 2MASX J20575398-5152151, PGC 65798, AM 2054-520, APMBGC 235+046+104, ISOSS J20578-5152, SGC 205419-5203.8, ESO 235- G 020 |
NGC 6984 is a barred spiral galaxy located 180 million light years away in the constellation Indus. It is a Type II Seyfert galaxy, a type of active galactic nucleus (AGN). [4] It is situated south of the celestial equator, and is visible with the help of a telescope having an aperture of 10 inches (250 mm) or more. [3] It was discovered on 8 July 1834 by British astronomer John Herschel. [5]
NGC 6984 is notable for having been the host of two supernovae which occurred in the same location (< 0.4 arcsec), [6] about 1 year apart: SN 2012im (type Ic, mag. 18.9), [7] first known as SNhunt142, [8] [9] [10] and SN 2013ek (type Ib/c, mag. 16.9). [11] [12] Hubble Space Telescope observations were initiated by Dr. Dan Milisavljevic. [13] NASA's press release about SN 2013ek said:
"It is so close to where SN 2012im was spotted that the two events are thought to be linked; the chance of two completely independent supernovae so close together and of the same class exploding within one year of one another is a very unlikely event. It was initially suggested that SN 2013ek may in fact be SN 2012im flaring up again, but further observations support the idea that they are separate supernovae — although they may be closely related in some as-yet-unknown way." [14]