NGC 3729 is a

barred spiral galaxy A barred spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars. Bars are found in about two thirds of all spiral galaxies in the local universe, and generally affect both the motions of stars and interstellar gas ...

located in the constellation

Ursa Major Ursa Major, also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation in the Northern Sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear", referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa M ...

. It is located at a distance of circa 65 million

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

s from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3729 is about 60,000 light years across. 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 12, 1789. NGC 3729 has a bright nucleus embedded in a bar which measures 0.5 x 0.1 arcminutes. At the end of the bar lies a ring with knots. The outer part of the galaxy is formed by an asymmetric faint nebulosity with condensations. It is possible that the condensation is a disturbed satellite galaxy. In the centre of NGC 3729 is predicted to lie an intermediate-mass

black hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

, whose mass is estimated to be between 4 and 400 thousands (10^{4.6 ± 1.0} ) based on Ks-band bulge luminosity. The galaxy has an inner ring which emits in far

ultraviolet Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of ...

and

H-alpha Hydrogen-alpha, typically shortened to H-alpha or Hα, is a deep-red visible spectral line of the hydrogen atom with a wavelength of 656.28 nm in air and 656.46 nm in vacuum. It is the first spectral line in the Balmer series and is em ...

, which are considered to be markers of recent

star formation Star formation is the process by which dense regions within molecular clouds in interstellar space—sometimes referred to as "stellar nurseries" or "star-forming regions"—Jeans instability, collapse and form stars. As a branch of astronomy, sta ...

activity. NGC 3729 is member of the

M109 Group The M109 Group (also known as the NGC 3992 Group or Ursa Major cloud) is a group of galaxies about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The group is named after the brightest galaxy within the group, the spiral galaxy ...

which is part of the south Ursa Major groups, part 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 forms a pair with

NGC 3718 NGC 3718, also called Arp 214, is a galaxy located approximately 52 million light years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. Near NGC 3718 is the galaxy NGC 3729, a peculiar barred spiral galaxy. It is either a lenticular or spiral galax ...

, which lies 11.5 arcminutes to the west. It is possible the two galaxies interacted in the past. Although no

supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

e have been observed in NGC 3729 yet, a

luminous red nova A luminous red nova (abbr. ''LRN'', pl. ''luminous red novae'', pl.abbr. ''LRNe'') is a stellar explosion thought to be caused by the merging of two stars. They are characterised by a distinct red colour, and a light curve that fades slowly with ...

, designated AT 2018hso, was discovered on 31 October 2018 (type LRN, mag. 19.4).Transient Name Server entry for AT 2018hso.
Retrieved 10 November 2023.

References

External links

* {{Ngc40 Barred spiral galaxies Peculiar galaxies Ursa Major Ursa Major Cluster 3729 06547 35711 Astronomical objects discovered in 1789 Discoveries by William Herschel