NGC 2768

Lore & Background

NGC 2768 is a lenticular galaxy in Ursa Major, lying 65 million light years away. It is classified as a Seyfert galaxy, indicating an active galactic nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole. At its center, a dusty structure forms a knotted ring around the bright core, oriented perpendicular to the galaxy's plane and extending outward. The dust appears as an intricate network of knots and filaments.

Reader's Guide

The galaxy's significance lies in its active nucleus, evidenced by two tiny, S-shaped symmetric jets that travel outward from the center along curved paths. These jets are masked by dark dust lanes spanning the galaxy. They are produced by the supermassive black hole, which accelerates and draws in gas from nearby space, forming an accretion disk. This disk ejects material in energetic outbursts, creating the jets. One supernova, SN 2000ds (Type Ib, magnitude 17.9), was observed on 10 October 2000, located 9.1 arcseconds west and 32.1 arcseconds south of the nucleus.

Did You Know?

• NGC 2768 is a lenticular galaxy in Ursa Major, 65 million light years away.
• It is a Seyfert galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center.
• The galaxy has two tiny, S-shaped symmetric jets masked by dark dust lanes.
• Supernova SN 2000ds (Type Ib) was discovered on 10 October 2000.