astronomy

NGC 2959

NGC 2959 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 NGC 2959 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 2959 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. Its velocity relative to the cosmic microwave background is 4,525 ± 6 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 66.7 ± 4.7 Mpc (~218 million light years.).

Key takeaways

NGC 2959 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NGC 2959 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 2959 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 2959 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. Its velocity relative to the cosmic microwave background is 4,525 ± 6 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 66.7 ± 4.7 Mpc (~218 million light years.). NGC 2959 was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on 28 October 1831. NGC 2959 has a luminosity class of I-II and a broad H I line. According to the Simbad database, NGC 2959 is a LINER galaxy, i.e. a galaxy whose nucleus has an emission spectrum characterized by broad lines of weakly ionized atoms.

Supernovae Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 2959:

SN 2021bbm (Type II, mag. 17.412) was discovered by ATLAS on 24 January 2021. SN 2023vog (Type II, mag. 18.5768) was discovered by the Automatic Learning for the Rapid Classification of Events (ALeRCE) on 21 October 2023.

See also List of NGC objects (2001–3000)

References

External links Media related to NGC 2959 at Wikimedia Commons NGC 2959 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 2959

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 2959 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 NGC 2959 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 NGC 2959 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 NGC 2959

In research: NGC 2959 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 NGC 2959 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: NGC 2959 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1831, Discoveries by John Herschel, IRAS catalogue objects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 2959 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.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study NGC 2959 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 2959 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 NGC 2959 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 2959 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 2959 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 NGC 2959?

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 NGC 2959.