NGC 986

NGC 986
NGC 986 taken by the FORS instrument on ESO’s VLT.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationFornax
Right ascension02h 33m 34.349s
Declination−39° 02′ 42.21″
Redshift0.006606
Heliocentric radial velocity1,942±10 km/s
Distance76 Mly (23.2 Mpc)
56 million ly
Group or clusterFornax Cluster
Apparent magnitude (V)10.9
Apparent magnitude (B)11.74
Characteristics
Type(R′1)SB(rs)b
Apparent size (V)3′.8 × 1′.9
Other designations
ESO 299-7, HIPASS J0233-39, NVSS J023334-390237, IRAS 02315-3915, 2MASX J02333434-3902422, NGC 986, LEDA 9747, MCG -07-06-015

NGC 986 is a barred spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Fornax, located about 76 million light-years away. It was discovered on August 5, 1826, by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, who described it as a "faint nebula, of an irregular round figure". The galaxy has an angular size of 3′.8 × 1′.9 with a visual magnitude of 10.9. It belongs to the Fornax Cluster of galaxies. This galaxy has a nearby companion, NGC 986A, at an angular separation of 17′, corresponding to a projected separation of 110 kpc. The two appear unconnected.

The morphological class of NGC 986 is (R′1)SB(rs)b, indicating this is a barred spiral (SB) with an outer pseudo-ring (R′1), an incomplete inner ring (rs), and moderately wound spiral arms (b). The galactic plane is inclined at an angle of 37° to the line of sight from the Earth. The resulting ellipsoidal profile has its major axis aligned along a position angle of 127°.

The nucleus of NGC 986 is undergoing intense star formation and there is an H II region at the core. The large central bar extends ~14 kpc and is rich in dense gas. The galaxy contains two large, extended and slightly warped arms that begin at each end of the central bar, forming an S-shape. There may be a tidally-disrupted dwarf galaxy at the end of its northern arm.

Supernova

One supernova has been observed in NGC 986: SN 2018lei (Type Ic, mag. 16.8) was discovered by ASAS-SN on 31 December 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 "An Often Ignored Beauty". European Southern Observatory. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 Skrutskie, Michael F.; et al. (1 February 2006). "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (2): 1163–1183. Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1163S. doi:10.1086/498708. ISSN 0004-6256. S2CID 18913331.
  3. 1 2 "NGC 986". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2022-01-11.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kohno, Kotaro; et al. (June 2008). "ASTE CO(3-2) Observations of the Southern Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 986: a Large Gaseous Bar Filled with a Dense Molecular Medium". Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan. 60 (3): 457–464. arXiv:0805.1491. Bibcode:2008PASJ...60..457K. doi:10.1093/pasj/60.3.457.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Hameed, Salman; Young, Lisa M. (June 2003). "The Role of Interactions in the Evolution of Highly Star-forming Early-Type (Sa-Sab) Spiral Galaxies". The Astronomical Journal. 125 (6): 3005–3024. Bibcode:2003AJ....125.3005H. doi:10.1086/375325. S2CID 122421859.
  6. 1 2 3 4 O'Meara, Stephen James (2013). Deep-Sky Companions: Southern Gems. Cambridge University Press. p. 44. ISBN 9781139851541.
  7. ↑ Brimacombe, J.; Cacella, P.; Castro, N.; Clocchiatti, A.; Kendurkar, M. R.; Vallely, P.; Stanek, K. Z.; Kochanek, C. S.; Shields, J.; Thompson, T. A.; Shappee, B. J.; Holoien, T. W.-S.; Prieto, J. L.; Bersier, D.; Dong, S.; Bose, S.; Chen, P.; Stritzinger, M.; Holmbo, S.; Bock, G.; Stone, G.; Conseil, E. (2019-01-01). "Discovery of 6 ASAS-SN Supernovae". The Astronomer's Telegram. 12348: 1. Bibcode:2019ATel12348....1B.
  8. ↑ "SN 2018lei". Transient Name Server. IAU. Retrieved 21 August 2025.