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EntityQ1050435· pop 29· linked from 426 articles

Also known as New General Catalogue 2708, New General Catalogue 2727

spiral galaxy in the constellation Hydra

Key facts

Constellation
Hydra
Right ascension
08 56 08.0688
Declination
−03 ° 21 ′ 36.467 ″
Heliocentric radial velocity
2008 ± 5 km/s
Distance
111.4 ± 7.9 Mly (34.15 ± 2.41 Mpc )
Group or cluster
NGC 2708 Group (LGG 164)
Type
SAB(s)b pec?
Size
~98,800 ly (30.29 kpc ) (estimated)
Apparent size v
2.7′ × 1.4′

via Wikipedia infobox

~1 min read

Encyclopedic overview

NGC 2708 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation of Hydra. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 2315 ± 22 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 34.15 ± 2.41 Mpc (~111 million light-years). It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 6 January 1785. This galaxy was also observed by British astronomer John Herschel on 12 March 1826, and later listed as NGC 2727.

The SIMBAD database lists NGC 2708 as a Seyfert II galaxy, i.e. a galaxy with a quasar-like nucleus with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Q1050435” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.