astronomy

NGC 3184

NGC 3184 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 3184 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 3184, also known as The Little Pinwheel Galaxy, is an unbarred spiral galaxy approximately 40 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Its name comes from its resemblance to the Pinwheel Galaxy.

Key takeaways

NGC 3184 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 3184 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 3184 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 3184, also known as The Little Pinwheel Galaxy, is an unbarred spiral galaxy approximately 40 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. Its name comes from its resemblance to the Pinwheel Galaxy. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 18 March 1787. It has two HII regions named NGC 3180 and NGC 3181. NGC 3184 houses a high abundance of heavy elements. The blue color of its spiral arms comes mostly from relatively few bright young blue stars. The bright stars that highlight the arms were created in huge density waves that circle the center.

Structure NGC 3184 has two prominent spiral arms. They have constant pitch angles, which makes them both symmetrical.

Supernovae and astronomical transients

Six supernovae and astronomical transients have been observed in NGC 3184:

SN 1921B (type unknown, mag. 13.5) was discovered by Fritz Zwicky on 6 April 1921. SN 1921C (type unknown, mag. 11) was discovered on 5 December 1921. SN 1937F (type unknown, mag. 16.1) was discovered by Rebecca Jones on 9 December 1937. SN 1999gi (Type II, mag. 14.5) was discovered by Reiki Kushida on 9 December 1999. SN 2010dn (Type ILRT, mag. 17.5) was discovered by Kōichi Itagaki on 31 May 2010. SN 2016bkv (Type II, mag. 17.2) was discovered by Kōichi Itagaki on 21 March 2016.

SN 2010dn On May 31, 2010, Kōichi Itagaki detected a magnitude 17 optical transient 33" east and 61" north of the center of NGC 3184 at coordinates 10 18 19.89 +41 26 28.8. Designated SN 2010dn, this event was initially thought to be an outbursting luminous blue variable (LBV) star, but later analysis categorized it as an intermediate-luminosity red transient (ILRT), also known as a luminous red nova. Archival Hubble and Spitzer images of NGC 3184 seem to show no progenitor for optical transient SN 2010dn. SN 2010dn is just like SN 2008S and NGC 300-OT. On day 2, SN 2010dn had an unfiltered magnitude of 17.1, corresponding to a peak absolute magnitude of roughly -13.3.

See also Pinwheel Galaxy Bode's galaxy Cigar galaxy NGC 2787 Messier 83 List of NGC objects (3001–4000)

Notes

References

External links Media related to NGC 3184 at Wikimedia Commons NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: Spiral Galaxy NGC 3184 (20 September 2000) Spiral Galaxy NGC 3184 & Supernova 1999gi (20-inch F/8.1 Ritchey Chretien Cassegrain) Supernova 1999gi in NGC 3184 (supernovae.net) Discovery image of SN2010dn (2010-05-31 mag 17.5) / Wikisky DSS2 and SDSS zoom-in of the same region

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 3184

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 3184 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 3184 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 3184 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 3184

In research: NGC 3184 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 3184 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 3184 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1787, Discoveries by William Herschel, Galaxies discovered in 1787, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 3184 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 NGC 3184 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 3184 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 3184 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 3184 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 3184 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 3184?

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 3184.