NGC 3079

NGC 3079
A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of NGC 3079.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Ursa Major
Right ascension	10h 01m 57.8s
Declination	+55° 40′ 47″
Redshift	1116 ± 1 km/s
Distance	50 Mly
Apparent magnitude (V)	11.5
Characteristics
Type	SB(s)c
Apparent size (V)	7′.9 × 1′.4
Other designations
UGC 5387, PGC 29050

NGC 3079 is a barred spiral galaxy about 50 million light-years away, and located in the constellation Ursa Major. A prominent feature of this galaxy is the "bubble" forming in the very center (see picture at right).

Center Bubble

The bubble forming in the center of NGC 3079 is believed to be about 3000 light-years wide and to rise more than 3500 light-years above the disc of the galaxy. It is speculated that the bubble is being formed by particles streaming at high speeds, which were in turn caused by a large burst of star formation. This current bubble is thought to have been created about one million years ago, and computer modeling suggests that there is an ongoing cycle of forming bubbles, with a new bubble forming approximately every 10 million years.

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the lumpy bubble of hot gas located at the center of the NGC 3079 galaxy's disk

See also

• Sombrero Galaxy

External links

• HST: Burst of Star Formation Drives Bubble in Galaxy's Core
• Superwind Sculpts Filamentary Features - Chandra Space Telescope
• Astronomy Picture of the Day for August 22, 2001