astronomy

NGC 3079

NGC 3079 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 3079 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 3079 is a barred spiral galaxy about 50 million light-years away, and located in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 1 April 1790.

Key takeaways

NGC 3079 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 3079 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 3079 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 3079 is a barred spiral galaxy about 50 million light-years away, and located in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 1 April 1790. The SIMBAD database lists NGC 3079 as a Seyfert II Galaxy, i.e. it has a quasar-like nucleus with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.

Center Bubble

A prominent feature of this galaxy is the "bubble" forming in the very center (see image to left). The supermassive black hole at the core has a mass of 2.4+2.4−1.2×106 M☉. The bubble forming in the center of NGC 3079 is believed to be about 3000 light-years wide and to rise more than 3500 light-years above the disc of the galaxy. It is speculated that the bubble is being formed by particles streaming at high speeds, which were in turn caused by a large burst of star formation. This current bubble is thought to have been created about one million years ago, and computer modeling suggests that there is an ongoing cycle of forming bubbles, with a new bubble forming approximately every 10 million years.

NGC 3079 Group NGC 3079 is the namesake of the NGC 3079 Group (also known as LGG 188), which contains six galaxies. The other galaxies in the group are NGC 3073, UGC 5421, UGC 5479, UGC 5459, and UGC 5460. The galaxies NGC 3073 and NGC 3079 are also listed together as Holm 156 in Erik Holmberg's A Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937.

Supernovae Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 3079:

SN 2001ci (Type Ic, mag. 18.3) was discovered by LOTOSS (Lick Observatory and Tenagra Observatory Supernova Searches) on 17 April 2001. SN 2013ee (Type II, mag. 15.5) was discovered by Giancarlo Cortini on 13 July 2013.

Image gallery

See also Sombrero Galaxy List of NGC objects (3001–4000)

References

External links

HST: Burst of Star Formation Drives Bubble in Galaxy's Core Superwind Sculpts Filamentary Features - Chandra X-ray Observatory NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: The Bubbling Cauldron of NGC 3079 (22 August 2001)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 3079

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 3079 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 3079 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 3079 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 3079

In research: NGC 3079 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 3079 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 3079 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 4C objects, Astronomical objects discovered in 1790, Barred spiral galaxies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 3079 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 3079 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 3079 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 3079 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 3079 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 3079 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 3079?

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 3079.