astronomy

UGC 10143

UGC 10143 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 UGC 10143 rather than just read about it. In short: UGC 10143 also known as Abell 2147 BCG, is a supergiant elliptical galaxy, luminous infrared galaxy, active galaxy, radio galaxy, and brightest cluster galaxy in the constellation of Hercules. The galaxy is 537 million light years (or 164,710,000 parsecs) away at a spectroscopic redshift of 0.03535.

Key takeaways

UGC 10143 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect UGC 10143 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of UGC 10143 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

UGC 10143 also known as Abell 2147 BCG, is a supergiant elliptical galaxy, luminous infrared galaxy, active galaxy, radio galaxy, and brightest cluster galaxy in the constellation of Hercules. The galaxy is 537 million light years (or 164,710,000 parsecs) away at a spectroscopic redshift of 0.03535. The galaxy has an apparent B magnitude of 14.9, and it can be observed both in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. UGC 10143 is the brightest cluster galaxy of Abell 2147, which is a B-M class III galaxy cluster. The galaxy was discovered in 1959 by Boris Vorontsov-Velyaminov's catalogue of interacting galaxies.

Characteristics UGC 10143 is a large, massive supergiant elliptical galaxy in the galaxy cluster, Abell 2147. The galaxy has a total diameter of 313,000 light years (or 95,830 parsecs), or roughly three times larger than the Milky Way. The size was estimated using intermediate surface brightness (POSS1 103a-O) angular diameter of 2 arcmin, and a mean redshift-independent distance of 537 million light years away (or 164,710,000 parsecs). UGC 10143 is predicted to be extremely massive, having a dynamical stellar mass of 1.51 trillion M☉ (or 1012.18). The galaxy is one of the most massive known in the universe, and is roughly seven times more massive than the stellar mass of the Milky Way. UGC 10143 is classified as a luminous infrared galaxy, due to the galaxy having an intrinsic K-band luminosity of 224 billion L☉ (or 1011.35). UGC 10143 has an estimated star-formation rate of 1.06 M☉, typical for low-star forming, and gas poor elliptical galaxies. The galactic center of UGC 10143 has an active galactic nucleus (also known as an AGN), which is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that is extremely luminous and energetic. The active galactic nucleus is powered by an extremely massive, accreting ultramassive black hole (also referred as a UMBH) with a core-break radius derived mass of 26.3 +46.1−16.8 billion M☉ (or 1010.42 ± 0.44) (with the range being 9.5 billion M☉ to 72.4 billion M☉). However, there are lower mass estimates for the central black hole of 891 +1,453−552 million M☉ (108.95 ± 0.42), and 8.51 +12.87−5.12 billion M☉ (109.93 ± 0.40), but these were calculated using velocity dispersion, and luminosity, which usually leads to underestimated masses. UGC 10143 has a large population of over 35,000 globular clusters with their brightness, and metal contents measured, which was discovered using data from the Hubble Space Telescope in a survey of star clusters in brightest cluster galaxies. The total mass of all of the 35,000 globular clusters is 5.13 billion M☉. UGC 10143 is interacting with two different galaxies designated Z 108-70, and Z 108-71. These three galaxies were first noted to be interacting galaxies in 1959 in Boris Vorontsov-Velyaminov's catalogue of interacting galaxies. These galaxies are also considered to be a chain of galaxies by Halton Arp in his atlas of peculiar galaxies.

X-ray source One x-ray source has been discovered in UGC 10143: 2CXO J160218.2+155912, which is classified as a ultraluminous x-ray source, and it was first found in 2022 in a survey of ULX candidates The x-ray source has a total luminosity of 4 million L☉, equivalent to 1.535*1040 erg/s.

Supernova One supernova has been identified in UGC 10143: SN 2010ad was discovered at magnituide 16 on February 19, 2010 by the Lick Observatory. It was classified as a weak hydrogen line Type II supernova (abbreviated as SNIIb), and is believed to be similar to other supernovae such as SN 1993J. The progenitors of weak hydrogen line Type II supernovae are usually massive stars between 8 M☉ and 50 M☉, or interacting binary stars. (SN 2010ad may actually be hosted by the neighboring galaxy, Z 108-71).

See also Abell 2147, the galaxy's host cluster. A2261-BCG, another brightest cluster galaxy. ESO 383-76, hosts a similar mass central black hole. Holmberg 15A, similar sized type-cD galaxy. List of galaxies with richest globular cluster systems, includes UGC 10143.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with UGC 10143

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what UGC 10143 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 UGC 10143 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 UGC 10143 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 UGC 10143

In research: UGC 10143 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 UGC 10143 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: UGC 10143 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Active galaxies, Arp objects, Elliptical galaxies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for UGC 10143 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 UGC 10143 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what UGC 10143 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 UGC 10143 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is UGC 10143 in simple terms?

Why does UGC 10143 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 UGC 10143?

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 UGC 10143.