This
field galaxy[12] is located about 30[3] million
light-years away from the
Milky Way, and is a member of the
Virgo Supercluster.[4] The
morphological classification of this galaxy is SBbc,[6] indicating a barred spiral (SB) with moderate to tightly-wound spiral arms (bc).
De Vaucouleurs and associates assigned it the class SAB(rs)bc, suggesting a weaker bar structure (SAB) with a partial ring (rs). The bar structure appears stronger in the
near infrared band. The galaxy as a whole is inclined by an angle of 60° to the line of sight from the Earth.[7]
72% of the stellar mass is located in the outer disk of the galaxy, and 20% is found in the bar. The bulge adds 5% of the stellar mass, and its star population is generally older.[13] However, the central ~650 pc radius volume of the core is a strong
starburst region. The
star formation rate here is 0.7
M☉ y−1 and it is being fed by gas inflow along the bar. There is no evidence of an
active nucleus.[7]
The irregular
dwarf galaxy KKH 51 appears to be a companion, as they have an angular separation of 25
′ and nearly the same
radial velocity.[14]
References
^
abSkrutskie, Michael F.; Cutri, Roc M.; Stiening, Rae; Weinberg, Martin D.; Schneider, Stephen E.; Carpenter, John M.; Beichman, Charles A.; Capps, Richard W.; Chester, Thomas; Elias, Jonathan H.; Huchra, John P.; Liebert, James W.; Lonsdale, Carol J.; Monet, David G.; Price, Stephan; Seitzer, Patrick; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Kirkpatrick, J. Davy; Gizis, John E.; Howard, Elizabeth V.; Evans, Tracey E.; Fowler, John W.; Fullmer, Linda; Hurt, Robert L.; Light, Robert M.; Kopan, Eugene L.; Marsh, Kenneth A.; McCallon, Howard L.; Tam, Robert; Van Dyk, Schuyler D.; Wheelock, Sherry L. (1 February 2006).
"The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)". The Astronomical Journal. 131 (2): 1163–1183.
Bibcode:
2006AJ....131.1163S.
doi:10.1086/498708.
ISSN0004-6256.
S2CID18913331.
^Sinnott, Roger W.; Perryman, Michael A. C. (1997). Millennium Star Atlas. Vol. 2. Sky Publishing Corporation and the European Space Agency. p. 686.
ISBN0-933346-83-2.
^Moore, S. L.; et al. (April 2010). "NGC 2903 - the galaxy Messier missed". Journal of the British Astronomical Association. 120 (2): 106–107.
Bibcode:
2010JBAA..120..106M.
^Materne, J. (April 1979). "The structure of nearby groups of galaxies - Quantitative membership probabilities". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 74 (2): 235–243.
Bibcode:
1979A&A....74..235M.
^Carrillo, Andreia; et al. (April 2020). "The VIRUS-P Exploration of Nearby Galaxies (VENGA): the stellar populations and assembly of NGC 2903's bulge, bar, and outer disc". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 493 (3): 4094–4106.
arXiv:2002.02858.
Bibcode:
2020MNRAS.493.4094C.
doi:
10.1093/mnras/staa397.