astronomy

NGC 6340

NGC 6340 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 6340 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 6340 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Draco. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on June 6, 1788.

Key takeaways

NGC 6340 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 6340 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 6340 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 6340 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Draco. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on June 6, 1788. The galaxy is located approximately 55 million light-years (17 Mpc) away, and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,217 km/s. It is the largest member of a triplet of galaxies known as the NGC 6340 group. The morphological classification of NGC 6340 is SA(s)0/a, indicating a lenticular or spiral galaxy with no central bar (SA), no ring structure (s), and tightly wound spiral arms. It is being viewed nearly face on, with an inclination of about 20° to the plane of the sky. There is a prominent central bulge with little in the way of spiral structure in the outer disk. The nucleus is chemically distinct, having a higher metallicity than the surroundings. There is a polar ring orbiting the nucleus with a radius of about 1.6 kly (0.5 kpc). Velocity measurements show that there are separate components with the inner and outer parts of the galaxy. This may have been created through a merger of two galaxy, with one possibly elliptical and the other a spiral.

References

External links Media related to NGC 6340 at Wikimedia Commons

NGC 6340 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 6340

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 6340 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 6340 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 6340 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 6340

In research: NGC 6340 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 6340 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 6340 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Draco (constellation), NGC objects, Principal Galaxies Catalogue objects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 6340 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 6340 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 6340 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 6340 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 6340 in simple terms?

NGC 6340 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Draco. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on June 6, 1788.

Why does NGC 6340 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 6340?

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 6340.