The Unfurling Spiral Arms of NGC 3981

This unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Crater features a bright central core, where a supermassive black hole lies, surrounded by a disk of hot, young stars and spiral arms laced with streams of dust and more young stars. The irregular, outstretched shape of its arms is likely due to gravitational influence from an encounter with one of its galactic neighbors. NGC 3981 is a member of the NGC 4038 Group of galaxies, which also contains the well-known interacting Antennae Galaxies. The NGC 4038 Group is a small component of the Virgo Supercluster, the immense collection of galaxies that hosts our own Milky Way Galaxy.

The unfurling arms of NGC 3981 appear to dissolve right into the cosmos in this image captured by the DOE-built Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at the U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), a Program of NSF NOIRLab. 

Credit:

Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Image processing: R. Colombari & M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab)

About the Image

Id:iotw2425a
Type:Observation
Release date:June 19, 2024, noon
Size:2582 x 2882 px

About the Object

Name:NGC 3981
Distance:65 million light years
Constellation:Crater
Category:Galaxies

Image Formats

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3.4 MB
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Coordinates

ObjectValue
Position (RA):11 55 58.58
Position (Dec):-19° 53' 57.62"
Field of view:11.40 x 12.75 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 90.2° right of vertical


Colors & filters

BandWave-lengthTele-scope
Optical
g
471 nmVíctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope
DECam
Optical
i
782 nmVíctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope
DECam