NGC 3414 is a

lenticular galaxy A lenticular galaxy (denoted S0) is a Galaxy morphological classification, type of galaxy intermediate between an elliptical galaxy, elliptical (denoted E) and a spiral galaxy in galaxy morphological classification schemes. It contains a large-s ...

in the

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

Leo Minor Leo Minor is a small and faint constellation in the northern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for "the smaller lion", in contrast to Leo, the larger lion. It lies between the larger and more recognizable Ursa Major to the north and Leo ...

. It was discovered by

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel ( ; ; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline Herschel. Born in the Electorate of Hanover ...

on April 11, 1785. It is the central galaxy of a rich

galaxy group A galaxy group or group of galaxies (GrG) is an aggregation of galaxies comprising about 50 or fewer gravitationally bound members, each at least as luminous as the Milky Way (about 1010 times the luminosity of the Sun); collections of galaxi ...

. Two galaxies, NGC 3418 and UGC 5958, have similar

redshift In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and increase in frequency and e ...

s and are within 800,000 light-years (250 kiloparsecs) of NGC 3414. It is a member of the NGC 3504 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the

Leo II Groups The Leo II Groups, Leo II Cloud, or simply the Leo Cloud is a galaxy filament consisting of at least 18 galaxy groups. It is located approximately 86 Mly (26 Mpc) from the Solar System. The Leo Cloud in supergalactic SGY coordinates is physica ...

, a series of galaxies and

galaxy cluster A galaxy cluster, or a cluster of galaxies, is a structure that consists of anywhere from hundreds to thousands of galaxies that are bound together by gravity, with typical masses ranging from 1014 to 1015 solar masses. Clusters consist of galax ...

s strung out from the right edge of the

Virgo Supercluster The Local Supercluster (LSC or LS), or Virgo Supercluster is a formerly defined supercluster containing the Virgo Cluster and Local Group, which itself contains the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies, as well as others. At least 100 galaxy group ...

. It has a peculiar morphology, and is listed in

Halton Arp Halton Christian "Chip" Arp (March 21, 1927 – December 28, 2013) was an American astronomer. He is remembered for his 1966 book ''Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies'', which catalogued unusual-looking galaxies and presented their images. Arp was als ...

Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies The ''Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies'' is a Astronomical catalog, catalog of peculiar galaxies produced by Halton Arp in 1966. A total of 338 galaxies are presented in the atlas, which was originally published in 1966 by the California Institut ...

as Arp 162. The outer disc is nearly face-on, and the inner disk has a higher ellipticity and perhaps a central bar. There is a radio source that is powered by a central

active galactic nucleus An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. Such e ...

References

External links

* Leo Minor 3414 Lenticular galaxies 162 032533 {{lenticular-galaxy-stub