Wikipedia

NGC 6970

NGC 6970
NGC 6970 (below center) with LEDA 129695 (above center) imaged by Legacy Surveys
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationIndus
Right ascension20h 52m 09.4808s[1]
Declination−48° 46′ 40.019″[1]
Redshift0.017525±0.0000870[1]
Heliocentric radial velocity5,254±26 km/s[1]
Distance168.70 ± 16.58 Mly (51.725 ± 5.082 Mpc)[1]
Group or clusterNGC 7038 group (LGG 441)
Apparent magnitude (V)13.16[1]
Characteristics
TypeSB(rs)ab pec[1]
Size~82,700 ly (25.37 kpc) (estimated)[1]
Apparent size (V)1.4′ × 0.9′[1]
Other designations
ESO 235- G 008, IRAS 20486-4857, 2MASX J20520946-4846398, PGC 65608[1]

NGC 6970 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Indus. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 5,089±29 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 244.8 ± 17.2 Mly (75.06 ± 5.28 Mpc).[1] However, four non-redshift measurements give a much closer mean distance of 168.70 ± 16.58 Mly (51.725 ± 5.082 Mpc).[2] It was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on 2 October 1834.[3]

NGC 6970 is a Seyfert I galaxy, i.e. it has a quasar-like nucleus with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, the host galaxy is clearly detectable.[4][5]

NGC 7038 group

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NGC 6970 is part of the NGC 7038 group (also known as LGG 441), which contains at least 13 galaxies, including NGC 6987, NGC 7014, NGC 7038 and nine galaxies in the ESO catalogue.[6][7]

Supernova

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One supernova has been observed in NGC 6970:

  • SN 2025aard (Type Ib, mag. 18.304) was discovered by ATLAS on 17 October 2025.[8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Results for object NGC 6970". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. NASA and Caltech. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  2. ^ "Distance Results for NGC 6970". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. NASA. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  3. ^ Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue Objects: NGC 6970". Celestial Atlas. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  4. ^ Chen, Yan-Ping; Zaw, Ingyin; Farrar, Glennys R.; Elgamal, Sana (2022). "A Uniformly Selected, Southern-sky 6dF, Optical AGN Catalog". The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 258 (2): 29. arXiv:2111.13217. Bibcode:2022ApJS..258...29C. doi:10.3847/1538-4365/ac4157.
  5. ^ "NGC 6970". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  6. ^ Garcia, A. M. (1993). "General study of group membership. II. Determination of nearby groups". Astronomy and Astrophysics Supplement Series. 100: 47. Bibcode:1993A&AS..100...47G.
  7. ^ "LGG 441". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  8. ^ "SN 2025aard". Transient Name Server. IAU. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
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  • Media related to NGC 6970 at Wikimedia Commons
  • NGC 6970 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images