astronomy

NGC 5850

NGC 5850 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 5850 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 5850 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 2,735 ± 13 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 40.3 ± 2.8 Mpc (~131 million ly).

Key takeaways

NGC 5850 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 5850 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 5850 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 5850 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 2,735 ± 13 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 40.3 ± 2.8 Mpc (~131 million ly). NGC 5850 was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 24 February 1786.

Characteristics The luminosity class of NGC 5850 is II and it has a broad HI1 line. It is also classified a LINER galaxy; a galaxy whose nucleus presents an emission spectrum characterized by broad lines of weakly ionized atoms. To date, seven non-redshift measurements yield a distance of 18.7 ± 1.75 Mpc (~61 million ly), which is far outside the Hubble distance values. Note that it is with the average value of independent measurements, when they exist, that the NASA/IPAC database calculates the diameter of a galaxy and that consequently the diameter of NGC 5850 could be approximately 58.7 kpc (~191,000 ly) if we used the Hubble distance to calculate it.

Morphology NGC 5850 was used by Gérard de Vaucouleurs as a galaxy of morphological type SB(r)b in his galaxy atlas. It is classified as a prototype double-barred system early-type spiral galaxy by other studies as well. In 2002, Eskridge, Frogel and Pogge published a paper, describing the morphology of 205 closely spaced spiral galaxies. The observations were carried out in the H band of infrared and in the B band (blue). According to Eskridge and his colleagues, NGC 5850 is a spiral galaxy of type SB(r)ab in the B band and type SB(r)0/a in the H band. The isophotes of the outer bulb are almost circular. The nucleus appears elliptical. The bulb is crossed by a very long bar with ansae at its end. The bar is inclined at 60 degrees to the interior bulb. A complete inner ring is formed at the end of the bar and beyond there is a faint spiral structure. The spiral arms appear to form an incomplete outer pseudo-ring. One of these spiral arms of NGC 5850 appears broken, likely caused by an interaction with a north-west object.

Possible galaxy pair?

NGC 5850 is close to its neighbor, NGC 5846. However, the distance between them is exactly 40 million light-years. Although they not a physical pair, it is possible that the two galaxies might have experienced a high-speed encounter around 200 million years ago.

Supernova One supernova has been observed in NGC 5850: SN 1987B (Type II, mag. 15) was discovered by Robert Evans on 24 February 1987, shining 71" west and 145" south of the nucleus of the galaxy. Spectral analysis indicated that it was a non-conventional Type II supernova.

See also NGC 5846, thought to have caused creation of NGC 5850 List of NGC objects (5001–6000)

References

Further bibliography Aguerri, J. A. L.; Hunter, J. H.; Prieto, M.; Varela, A. M.; Gottesman, S. T.; Muñoz-Tuñón, C. (July 2001). "An hydrodynamical model of the barred galaxy NGC 5850". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 373 (3): 786–795. Bibcode:2001A&A...373..786A. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20010557.

External links NGC 5850 at SIMBAD NGC 5850 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 5850

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 5850 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 5850 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 5850 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 5850

In research: NGC 5850 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 5850 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 5850 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1786, Barred spiral galaxies, Discoveries by William Herschel, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 5850 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 5850 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 5850 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 5850 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 5850 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 5850 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 5850?

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 5850.