NGC 3310
Encyclopedia
NGC 3310 is a grand design spiral galaxy
in the constellation
Ursa Major
. It is a starburst galaxy
and its likely that NGC 3310 collided with one of its satellite galaxies about 100 million years ago, triggering widespread star formation. It is thought to be located approximately 46 million light-year
s away from the Earth
, and is thought to be about 22000 light-years wide.
The ring clusters of NGC 3310 have been undergoing starburst activity for at least the last 40 Myr
.
Grand design spiral galaxy
A grand design spiral galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy with prominent and well-defined spiral arms, as opposed to multi-arm and flocculent spirals which have subtler structural features. The spiral arms of a grand design galaxy extend clearly around the galaxy through many radians and can be...
in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Ursa Major
Ursa Major
Ursa Major , also known as the Great Bear, is a constellation visible throughout the year in most of the northern hemisphere. It can best be seen in April...
. It is a starburst galaxy
Starburst galaxy
A starburst galaxy is a galaxy in the process of an exceptionally high rate of star formation, compared to the usual star formation rate seen in most galaxies. Galaxies are often observed to have a burst of star formation after a collision or close encounter between two galaxies...
and its likely that NGC 3310 collided with one of its satellite galaxies about 100 million years ago, triggering widespread star formation. It is thought to be located approximately 46 million light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away from the Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, and is thought to be about 22000 light-years wide.
The ring clusters of NGC 3310 have been undergoing starburst activity for at least the last 40 Myr
Myr
The symbol myr was formerly used in English-language geology, and remains as the standard usage in astronomy, as a unit of one million years.It is an abbreviation for 'million years' and lower case is used in geology, while upper case is used in astronomy....
.