NGC 908

NGC 908
NGC 908 imaged by the Very Large Telescope of ESO.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationCetus
Right ascension02h 23m 04.6s[1]
Declination−21° 14′ 02″[1]
Redshift1509 ± 5 km/s[1]
Distance56.0 ± 5.7 Mly (17.2 ± 1.8 Mpc)[1]
Group or clusterNGC 908 group
Apparent magnitude (V)10.83[2]
Characteristics
TypeSA(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: SN 1994ai (type Ic, mag. 17)[6] and SN 2006ce (type Ia, mag. 12.4).[7][8] Also, one luminous blue variable has been observed in this galaxy: AT 2021ablz (type LBV, mag. 20.6).[9]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Results for NGC 908". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 2006-11-18.
  2. ^ a b "Your NED Search Results". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
  3. ^ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue Objects: NGC 908". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  4. ^ Dmitry Makarov and Igor Karachentsev (2011). "Galaxy groups and clouds in the local (z∼ 0.01) Universe". MNRAS. 412 (4): 2498–2520. arXiv:1011.6277. Bibcode:2011MNRAS.412.2498M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18071.x. S2CID 119194025.
  5. ^ "The Starburst Galaxy NGC 908". ESO. 26 July 2006. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  6. ^ Transient Name Server entry for SN 1994ai. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  7. ^ "List of Supernovae". IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Retrieved 29 December 2015.
  8. ^ Transient Name Server entry for SN 2006ce. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
  9. ^ "SN 2021ablz". Transient Name Server. IAU. Retrieved 22 August 2024.