NGC 986

NGC 986 is a barred spiral galaxy in the southern constellation of Fornax, located about 76 million light-years away.^[4][5] It was discovered on August 5, 1826 by the Scottish astronomer James Dunlop, who described it as a "faint nebula, of an irregular round figure". The galaxy has an angular size of 3′.8 × 1′.9 with a visual magnitude of 10.9. It belongs to the Fornax Cluster of galaxies.^[6] This galaxy has a nearby companion, NGC 986A, at an angular separation of 17′, corresponding to a projected separation of 110 kpc. The two appear unconnected.^[5]

NGC 986
NGC 986 taken by the FORS instrument on ESO’s VLT.[1]
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Fornax
Right ascension	02h 33m 34.349s[2]
Declination	−39° 02′ 42.21″[2]
Redshift	0.006606[3]
Heliocentric radial velocity	1,942±10 km/s[4]
Distance	76 Mly (23.2 Mpc)[4][5] 56 million ly[1]
Group or cluster	Fornax Cluster[6]
Apparent magnitude (V)	10.9[6]
Apparent magnitude (B)	11.74[3]
Characteristics
Type	(R′1)SB(rs)b[4]
Apparent size (V)	3′.8 × 1′.9[6]
Other designations
IRAS 02315-3915, 2MASX J02333434-3902422, NGC 986, LEDA 9747, MCG -07-06-015

The morphological class of NGC 986 is (R′₁)SB(rs)b,^[4] indicating this is a barred spiral (SB) with an outer pseudo-ring (R′₁), an incomplete inner ring (rs), and moderately wound spiral arms (b). The galactic plane is inclined at an angle of 37° to the line of sight from the Earth. The resulting ellipsoidal profile has its major axis aligned along a position angle of 127°.^[4]

The nucleus of NGC 986 is undergoing intense star formation^[5] and there is an H II region at the core. The large central bar extends ~14 kpc and is rich in dense gas.^[4] The galaxy contains two large, extended and slightly warped arms that begin at each end of the central bar, forming an S-shape. There may be a tidally-disrupted dwarf galaxy at the end of its northern arm.^[5]

One supernova has been observed in NGC 986: SN 2018lei (type Ic, mag. 16.8).^[7]