astronomy

NGC 7241

NGC 7241 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 7241 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 7241 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Pegasus. Based on redshift-independent methods, it is located at a distance of about 150 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 7241 is about 160,000 light years across.

Key takeaways

NGC 7241 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 7241 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 7241 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 7241 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Pegasus. Based on redshift-independent methods, it is located at a distance of about 150 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 7241 is about 160,000 light years across. However, based on redshift the galaxy is about 70 million light years away. It was discovered by Édouard Stephan on August 28, 1872.

Characteristics NGC 7241 is a spiral galaxy that is seen edge-on. There is a slight warp in the dust lanes of the disk, better visible in infrared images, probably due to a past interaction with another galaxy. Based on its kinematics, the virial mass of NGC 7241 is 2.5×1012 M☉. There is a smaller companion galaxy superimposed on the galactic disk near its center. The companion appears bluer than NGC 7241, indicating it contains younger stars. A stellar stream extends towards the southeast of the galaxy, which coincides with a hydrogen tail. The hydrogen tail was detected by the Arecibo Telescope. There is a blob within the stream that could have been its source and it is undergoing star formation comparable to star forming dwarf galaxies near the edge of disk galaxies. The dwarf's mass is estimated to be about 6.4×106 M☉ and 2.7×108 M☉ which is one of the lowest reported for a stream progenitor outside the Local Group. NGC 7241 forms a pair with disk galaxy UGC 11964. For a distance of 22.4 Mpc the project separation of the galaxies is 32.4 kpc.

References

External links

NGC 7241 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images NGC 7241 on SIMBAD

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 7241

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 7241 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 7241 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 7241 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 7241

In research: NGC 7241 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 7241 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 7241 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1872, Barred spiral galaxies, Discoveries by Édouard Stephan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 7241 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 7241 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 7241 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 7241 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 7241 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 7241 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 7241?

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 7241.