NGC 3893

NGC 3893 is a barred spiral galaxy located approximately 61 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by William Herschel on February 3, 1788.

Characteristics:

• NGC 3893 is classified as an SBc galaxy, indicating that it is a spiral galaxy with a prominent bar structure and loosely wound spiral arms.
• It is a relatively bright galaxy with an apparent magnitude of around 11.
• The galaxy is known to host an active galactic nucleus (AGN), although it's not considered a Seyfert galaxy. The AGN activity is likely fueled by the accretion of matter onto a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center.
• NGC 3893 is interacting with its smaller companion galaxy, NGC 3896. This gravitational interaction is likely distorting the shapes of both galaxies and may be triggering star formation within them.
• Supernovae have been observed in NGC 3893, indicating recent episodes of stellar death. These events provide valuable information about the galaxy's star formation history and the evolution of massive stars.

Companion Galaxies:

• NGC 3893 is part of the NGC 3992 Group, a group of galaxies that includes NGC 3992 (also known as Messier 109), NGC 3877, NGC 3896, and several other fainter galaxies. These galaxies are gravitationally bound and are interacting with each other to varying degrees. The interaction between NGC 3893 and NGC 3896 is a particularly well-studied example of galaxy interaction.

Observations:

NGC 3893 is a popular target for amateur astronomers due to its relatively bright magnitude. It can be observed with moderate-sized telescopes under dark skies. Professional astronomers study NGC 3893 to learn more about galaxy evolution, active galactic nuclei, and the effects of galaxy interactions.