astronomy

NGC 986

NGC 986 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 986 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 986 is a barred spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Fornax, located about 76 million light-years away. It was discovered on August 5, 1826, by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, who described it as a "faint nebula, of an irregular round figure".

Key takeaways

NGC 986 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 986 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 986 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 986 is a barred spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Fornax, located about 76 million light-years away. It was discovered on August 5, 1826, by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, who described it as a "faint nebula, of an irregular round figure". The galaxy has an angular size of 3′.8 × 1′.9 with a visual magnitude of 10.9. It belongs to the Fornax Cluster of galaxies. This galaxy has a nearby companion, NGC 986A, at an angular separation of 17′, corresponding to a projected separation of 110 kpc. The two appear unconnected. The morphological class of NGC 986 is (R′1)SB(rs)b, indicating this is a barred spiral (SB) with an outer pseudo-ring (R′1), an incomplete inner ring (rs), and moderately wound spiral arms (b). The galactic plane is inclined at an angle of 37° to the line of sight from the Earth. The resulting ellipsoidal profile has its major axis aligned along a position angle of 127°. The nucleus of NGC 986 is undergoing intense star formation and there is an H II region at the core. The large central bar extends ~14 kpc and is rich in dense gas. The galaxy contains two large, extended and slightly warped arms that begin at each end of the central bar, forming an S-shape. There may be a tidally-disrupted dwarf galaxy at the end of its northern arm.

Supernova One supernova has been observed in NGC 986: SN 2018lei (Type Ic, mag. 16.8) was discovered by ASAS-SN on 31 December 2018.

References

External links Media related to NGC 986 at Wikimedia Commons

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 986

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 986 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 986 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 986 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 986

In research: NGC 986 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 986 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 986 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1826, Barred spiral galaxies, Fornax, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 986 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.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study NGC 986 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 986 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 986 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 986 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 986 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 986?

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 986.