astronomy

NGC 4036

NGC 4036 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 4036 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 4036 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a lenticular galaxy in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 19 March 1790.

Key takeaways

NGC 4036 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 4036 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 4036 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 4036 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a lenticular galaxy in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 19 March 1790. In the Carnegie Atlas of Galaxies, it is described as being "characterized by an irregular pattern of dust lanes threaded through the disc in an 'embryonic' spiral pattern indicating a mixed S0/Sa form." It is located near the Big Dipper, a little to the north of the mid-way point between the stars Alpha Ursae Majoris and Delta Ursae Majoris. With a visual magnitude of 10.7, it can be dimly viewed using a 4 in (10 cm) aperture telescope. The visual dimensions of this galaxy are 2.703′ × 1.027′ with the major axis having a position angle of 85°. The galaxy is being viewed nearly edge-on, with an inclination of 18° to the line of sight from the Earth. It is moving away from us with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,445 km/s. The estimated visual luminosity of the galaxy is 4.2×1010 L☉, or 42 billion times the brightness of the Sun. Photographs show a tightly wound spiral pattern in the galactic disk, with three dust lanes—the southern side of the galaxy appears dimmer due to the dust configuration. The mass of the free gas and dust in the galaxy is about 1.7×109 M☉ and 4.4×105 M☉, respectively, with around 7×104 M☉ of the gas being in an ionized state. This is a type of active galaxy known as a LINER, which means that it shows emission lines of ionized gas in the region of its nucleus. Chemically, the stars at the center of the nucleus have a higher metallicity than in the neighboring regions. It appears that there is a tilted disk of stars orbiting the nucleus within a radius of 820 ly (250 pc). The galactic bulge itself appears triaxial with the ionized gas concentrated near the center of this bulge region. Images of the galaxy with the Hubble Space Telescope show a wispy disk of dust on all sides of the nucleus, with what appears to be the tendrilous remains of an ionization cone leading away 4 arc seconds to the northeast. Such features are common in Seyfert galaxies. NGC 4036 is a member of the LGG 266 galaxy group (Also known as the NGC 4036 Group), along with NGC 4041, IC 758, UGC 7009, and UGC 7019. It is located just 17 arc minutes from NGC 4041, and the two form a pair with a projected separation of around 470 kly (143 kpc). The NGC 4036 Group is part of the Ursa Major Cloud, which is part of the Virgo Supercluster.

Supernova One supernova has been observed in NGC 4036. SN 2007gi (Type Ia, mag. 16.3) was discovered by Kōichi Itagaki on 23 July 2007, located near the central bulge of the galaxy. It reached peak magnitude around August 14, then steadily declined in brightness thereafter. Materials identified in the spectrum included silicon, calcium, and sulfur moving outward at velocities of around 15,500 km/s. This is a 50% higher velocity than what is normally observed with supernovae of this type.

Gallery

References

External links Media related to NGC 4036 at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 4036

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 4036 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 4036 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 4036 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 4036

In research: NGC 4036 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 4036 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 4036 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1790, Discoveries by William Herschel, Lenticular galaxies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 4036 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 4036 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 4036 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 4036 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 4036 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 4036 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 4036?

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 4036.