| NGC 3974 | |
| Constellation Name: | Crater |
| Epoch: | J2000 |
| Type: | (R')SB0/a?(r)[1] |
| Dist Ly: | NaNMpc |
| Z: | 0.019133 |
| H Radial V: | 5736 ± 32 km/s |
| Appmag V: | 13.4 |
| Size V: | 1.2' x 1.1' |
| Size: | ~24.67kpc (estimated) |
NGC 3974 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation of Crater. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 6099 ± 41 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 89.96 ± 6.34 Mpc (∼293 million light-years). It was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on 9 March 1828.[2]
NGC 3974 is possibly a LINER galaxy, i.e. it has a type of nucleus that is defined by its spectral line emission which has weakly ionized or neutral atoms, while the spectral line emission from strongly ionized atoms is relatively weak..
One supernova has been observed in NGC 3974: SN 2024gra (type Ia, mag 18.9).[3]