astronomy

Markarian 177

Markarian 177 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Markarian 177 rather than just read about it. In short: Markarian 177 is a blue compact dwarf galaxy located 90,000,000 ly (28 Mpc) away, at the constellation of Ursa Major, in the bowl of the Big Dipper asterism. It was discovered by the astronomer Benjamin Markarian.

Key takeaways

Markarian 177 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Markarian 177 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Markarian 177 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Markarian 177 is a blue compact dwarf galaxy located 90,000,000 ly (28 Mpc) away, at the constellation of Ursa Major, in the bowl of the Big Dipper asterism. It was discovered by the astronomer Benjamin Markarian. Markarian 177 is a peculiar galaxy that is receding from us at a rate of 2425 km/s. It has a visual apparent size of 0.41×0.34 arcmin.

SDSS1133 Near the galaxy, at over 2,600 ly (800 pc) from it, is a luminous X-ray source named SDSS J113323.97+550415.8 (SDSS1133), in orbit around Markarian 177. The source has been stable for some decades from the 1950s through the 2000s, and the emission region is some 40 ly (12 pc) wide. It may be an ejected supermassive black hole from a galaxy that interacted with Markarian 177. Alternative explanations for the X-ray source include it possibly being a luminous blue variable star that has recently undergone a supernova in the early 2000s, where for the previous five decades it had been in continuous eruption.

Further reading Michael Koss; Laura Blecha; Richard Mushotzky; Chao Ling Hung; Sylvain Veilleux; Benny Trakhtenbrot; Kevin Schawinski; Daniel Stern; Nathan Smith; Yanxia Li; Allison Man; Alexei V. Filippenko; Jon C. Mauerhan; Kris Stanek; David Sanders (27 January 2014). "SDSS1133: An Unusually Persistent Transient in a Nearby Dwarf Galaxy". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 445 (1) (published November 2014): 515–527. arXiv:1401.6798. Bibcode:2014MNRAS.445..515K. doi:10.1093/mnras/stu1673.

References

External links Niels Bohr Institute (19 November 2014). "Mystery of dwarf galaxy could be ejected black hole". Phys.org.—VIDEO

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Markarian 177

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Markarian 177 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Markarian 177 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Markarian 177 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Markarian 177

In research: Markarian 177 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Markarian 177 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Markarian 177 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Dwarf galaxies, Markarian galaxies, UGCA objects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Markarian 177 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Markarian 177 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Markarian 177 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Markarian 177 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Markarian 177 in simple terms?

Why does Markarian 177 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Markarian 177?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Markarian 177.