NGC 3741
| NGC 3741 | |
|---|---|
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 3741 | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Right ascension | 11h 36m 05s |
| Declination | +45° 17′ 02″ |
| Redshift | 0.000764 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 229 ± 4 km/s |
| Distance | 10 Mly (3.2 Mpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 14.23 |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 14.55 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | ImIII/BCD |
| Other designations | |
| NGC 3741, UGC 6572, MCG +08-21-068, PGC 35878, SDSS J113605.75+451702.9 | |
NGC 3741 is an irregular galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by John Herschel on March 19, 1828. At a distance of about 10 million light-years (3.2 Mpc), it is located in the M94 Group. It is relatively undisturbed by other galaxies.
NGC 3741 is an unusual galaxy in several aspects. It has a disk of neutral hydrogen (H I) that is extremely wide, extending some 23,000 light-years (7 kpc). The disk is strongly but symmetrically warped. With a mass-to-light ratio of MT/LB ~ 149, it is highly rich in dark matter.
NGC 3741 has a central bar and a faint spiral arm rich in H I. The bar rotates slowly, likely due to interaction with the dark matter. The bar and spiral arms would make NGC 3741 a low-luminosity spiral galaxy. The unusual properties could be explained if NGC 3741 were a late-stage merger between a low-mass companion or if it accreted mass from the intergalactic medium.