NGC 3741 is an
irregular galaxy in the constellation
Ursa Major. It was discovered by
John Herschel on March 19, 1828.[4] At a distance of about 10 million light-years (3.2 Mpc), it is located in the
M94 Group.[3] It is relatively undisturbed by other galaxies.[3]
NGC 3741 is an unusual galaxy in several aspects. It has a disk of neutral
hydrogen (H I) that is extremely wide, extending some 23,000 light-years (7 kpc). The disk is strongly but symmetrically warped.[5] With a mass-to-light ratio of MT/LB ~ 149, it is highly rich in
dark matter.[6]
NGC 3741 has a central
bar and a faint spiral arm rich in H I. The bar rotates slowly, likely due to interaction with the dark matter.[7] The bar and spiral arms would make NGC 3741 a low-luminosity
spiral galaxy.[3] The unusual properties could be explained if NGC 3741 were a late-stage merger between a low-mass companion or if it accreted mass from the
intergalactic medium.[3]
^
abcdeAnnibali, F.; Bacchini, C.; Iorio, G.; Bellazzini, M.; Pascale, R.; Beccari, G.; Cignoni, M.; Ciotti, L.; Nipoti, C.; Sacchi, E.; Tosi, M.; Cusano, F.; Bisogni, S.; Gargiulo, A.; Paris, D. (2022). "The Smallest Scale of Hierarchy Survey (SSH) – II. Extended star formation and bar-like features in the dwarf galaxy NGC 3741: Recent merger or ongoing gas accretion?". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 512 (2): 1781–1794.
arXiv:2202.11734.
Bibcode:
2022MNRAS.512.1781A.
doi:
10.1093/mnras/stac541.
^Begum, Ayesha; Chengalur, Jayaram N.; Kennicutt, Robert C.; Karachentsev, Igor D.; Lee, Janice C. (2007). "Life in the last lane: Star formation and chemical evolution in an extremely gas rich dwarf". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 383 (2): 809–816.
arXiv:0711.1588.
Bibcode:
2008MNRAS.383..809B.
doi:
10.1111/j.1365-2966.2007.12592.x.
S2CID16348749.
^Banerjee, Arunima; Patra, Narendra Nath; Chengalur, Jayaram N.; Begum, Ayesha (2013). "A slow bar in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 3741". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 434 (2): 1257–1263.
arXiv:1308.3029.
Bibcode:
2013MNRAS.434.1257B.
doi:
10.1093/mnras/stt1083.