NGC 3972
| NGC 3972 | |
|---|---|
NGC 3972 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Right ascension | 11h 55m 45.1s |
| Declination | +55° 19′ 14″ |
| Redshift | 0.002799 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 846 km/s |
| Distance | 66.0 Mly (20.23 Mpc) |
| Group or cluster | NGC 3992 Group |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.14 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SA(s)bc, SBbc |
| Size | c. 50,000 ly |
| Other designations | |
| IRAS 11531+5535, 2MASX J11554511+5519144, UGC 6904, LEDA 37466, MCG +09-20-032 | |
NGC 3972 is a spiral galaxy located in the northern constellation of Ursa Major. It was discovered by William Herschel on April 14, 1789. This galaxy is located 66 million light years away and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 846 km/s. It is a member of the NGC 3992 Group of galaxies.
NGC 3972 along with NGC 3977 are listed together as Holm 304 in Erik Holmberg's A Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937. This grouping is purely optical, as NGC 3977 is about four times farther away than NGC 3972.
NGC 3972 is a radio galaxy, i.e. a galaxy with giant regions of radio emission extending well beyond its visible structure.