MCG -03-04-014 or PGC 4167, is a

spiral galaxy Spiral galaxies form a galaxy morphological classification, class of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work ''The Realm of the Nebulae''

light-years A light-year, alternatively spelled light year (ly or lyr), is a unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equal to exactly , which is approximately 9.46 trillion km or 5.88 trillion mi. As defined by the International Astro ...

in the constellation of

Cetus Cetus () is a constellation, sometimes called 'the whale' in English. The Cetus (mythology), Cetus was a sea monster in Greek mythology which both Perseus and Heracles needed to slay. Cetus is in the region of the sky that contains other water- ...

. MCG -03-04-014 is classified as a

luminous infrared galaxy Luminous infrared galaxies or LIRGs are galaxies with luminosities, the measurement of brightness, above . They are also referred to as submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) through their normal method of detection. LIRGs are more abundant than starburst ...

, meaning it has high star-formation regions. MCG -03-04-014 has a galactic center that is obscured by dust lanes and presents an abundant supply of molecular gas. The reasons behind the

luminosity Luminosity is an absolute measure of radiated electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic energy per unit time, and is synonymous with the radiant power emitted by a light-emitting object. In astronomy, luminosity is the total amount of electroma ...

of this galaxy are debated among

astronomers An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either observ ...

. Some attribute it to recent starbursts, while others point to activity in the galaxies'

supermassive black holes A supermassive black hole (SMBH or sometimes SBH) is the largest type of black hole, with its mass being on the order of hundreds of thousands, or millions to billions, of times the mass of the Sun (). Black holes are a class of astronomical o ...

. It is also considered that both factors may contribute. The exact cause remains uncertain. According to

SIMBAD SIMBAD (the Set of Identifications, Measurements and Bibliography for Astronomical Data) is an astronomy, astronomical database of objects beyond the Solar System. It is maintained by the Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg (CDS), Fr ...

, it is considered to be a Seyfert type 1 galaxy, hence the possible reason for its luminosity level.

References

{{Cetus Spiral galaxies -03-04-014 004167 Luminous infrared galaxies Cetus J01100897-1651096 IRAS catalogue objects