NGC 908 | |
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![]() NGC 908 imaged by the Very Large Telescope of ESO. | |
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Cetus |
Right ascension | 02h 23m 04.6s [1] |
Declination | −21° 14′ 02″ [1] |
Redshift | 1509 ± 5 km/s [1] |
Distance | 56.0 ± 5.7 Mly (17.2 ± 1.8 Mpc) [1] |
Group or cluster | NGC 908 group |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 10.83 [2] |
Characteristics | |
Type | SA(s)c [1] |
Apparent size (V) | 6′.0 × 2′.6 [1] |
Other designations | |
UGCA 27, MCG -04-06-035, PGC 9057 [2] |
NGC 908 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Cetus. It was discovered on 20 September 1786 by William Herschel. [3] This galaxy is 56 million light years away from Earth. It is the main galaxy in the NGC 908 group, which also includes NGC 899, NGC 907, and IC 223. [4]
NGC 908 has vigorous star formation and is a starburst galaxy. The galaxy has a three-arm spiral pattern; two of its arms have peculiar morphology. The galaxy has a bright central bulge. Clusters of young stars and star-forming knots can be seen in the arms. Starburst activity and the peculiar morphology of the galaxy indicate it had a close encounter with another galaxy, although none are visible now. [5]
Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 908:
Also, one luminous blue variable has been observed in this galaxy: AT 2021ablz (type LBV, mag. 20.6) was discovered by Pan-STARRS on 14 October 2021. [10]