| NGC 6384 | |
|---|---|
NGC 6384 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ophiuchus |
| Right ascension | 17h 32m 24.302s |
| Declination | +07° 03′ 36.97″ |
| Redshift | 0.005554 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1,665 km/s |
| Distance | 76.6 Mly (23.5 Mpc) |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(r)bc |
| Mass | 1.05 × 1011 M☉ |
| Size | 138,000 light years |
| Other designations | |
| IRAS 17299+0705, 2MASX J17322430+0703369, UGC 10891, MCG +01-45-001, PGC 60459, CGCG 055-007 | |
NGC 6384 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy located about 77 million light-years away in the northern part of the constellation Ophiuchus. It was discovered by German-British astronomer Albert Marth on 10 June 1863.
NGC 6384 has a morphological classification of SAB(r)bc, indicating that it is a weakly barred galaxy (SAB) with an inner ring structure (r) orbiting the bar, and moderate to loosely wound spiral arms (bc). The galaxy is inclined by an angle of 47° to the line of sight, along a position angle of 40°. The estimated mass of the stars in this galaxy is 105 billion times the mass of the Sun.
At one time NGC 6384 was considered a normal galaxy with no activity in the nucleus. However, it is now classified as a transition object (T2), which is thought to be a LINER-type galaxy whose emission-line spectra is contaminated by H II regions in the nucleus.
Three supernovae have been observed in NGC 6384: