---
title: "NGC 3971"
url: "https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-3971"
release: "DR1"
licence: "CC-BY-SA-4.0"
citation: "SpaceCatalog. NGC 3971 [catalogue entry]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-3971"
---

# NGC 3971

NGC 3971 is a lenticular [galaxy](https://spacecatalog.org/galaxies) S0 in the constellation [Ursa Major](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/ursa-major), 336.5 Mly from Earth, shining at apparent magnitude 13.13 (V). Other catalogues list it as 2MASX J11553641+2959452, IRAS F11552+2919 and LEDA 37443, among 13 designations in total. It was discovered in 1788.

## At a glance

- **WHAT IT IS:** Lenticular galaxy
- **HOW FAR:** 336.5 Mly — A luminosity distance, from its redshift — how faint it looks. The light itself left 312 million years ago.
- **HOW BIG ON THE SKY:** 1.1′ — Small enough that the full Moon would cover it several times over.
- **HOW BRIGHT (V):** 13.13 — Faint: it takes a large telescope.
- **WHERE TO LOOK:** [Ursa Major](https://spacecatalog.org/constellation/ursa-major) — The patch of sky it sits in, as seen from Earth.

## Properties

| Quantity | Value |
| --- | --- |
| CLASS | Lenticular galaxy S0 |
| DISTANCE FROM EARTH | 336.5 Mly ±20 — by redshift (CMB frame), flat ΛCDM with H0 = 70 km/s/Mpc |
| APPARENT MAGNITUDE (V) | 13.13 |
| CONSTELLATION | Ursa Major |
| RIGHT ASCENSION (J2000) | 11h 55m 36.4s |
| DECLINATION (J2000) | +29° 59′ 45.3″ |
| DISCOVERED | 1788 |

## Catalogue data

### WHAT KIND OF THING IT IS

What the object is in itself, rather than how it happens to look from here.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Hubble type | S0 |

### HOW BRIGHT IT IS

What the light adds up to, measured through one filter at a time. A magnitude is a brightness on a backwards scale — the smaller the number, the brighter the object.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.83 |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.13 |
| Apparent magnitude (J) | 10.98 |
| Apparent magnitude (H band) | 10.31 |
| Apparent magnitude (K) | 10.04 |
| Surface brightness | 22.86 mag/arcsec² |

### WHERE IT IS AND HOW IT MOVES

Position, motion across the sky and the size it covers on it. These are measurements of the object as seen from here, so every one of them depends on where here is.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Radial velocity | 6722 km/s |
| Redshift (z) | 0.02268 |
| Redshift (z, CMB frame) | 0.0236685 |
| Major axis | 1.05′ |
| Minor axis | 0.91′ |
| Position angle | 76° |

### WHEN IT WAS FOUND

Who first saw it, from where, and by what method.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Discovered by | William Herschel |

### OTHER NAMES AND NUMBERS

The identifiers other catalogues file this object under, for anyone joining this data to theirs.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| OpenNGC type code | G |
| Wikidata item | Q4026065 |
| Wikipedia article | NGC 3971 |

## Also known as

- 2MASX: 2MASX J11553641+2959452
- IRAS: IRAS F11552+2919
- LEDA: LEDA 37443
- LEDA: LEDA 37632
- MCG: MCG +05-28-047
- NGC: NGC 3971
- NGC: NGC 3984
- PGC: PGC 37443
- PGC: PGC 37632
- SDSS: SDSS J115536.39+295945.2
- SDSS: SDSS J115536.39+295945.3
- UGC: UGC 6899
- UGC: UGC 6943

## Source

[OpenNGC](https://github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC) — CC-BY-SA-4.0

The producer asks: OpenNGC, Mattia Verga (github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC). Fields derived from it stay under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How this was made: https://spacecatalog.org/methods#source-openngc

## Cite this page

SpaceCatalog. NGC 3971 \[catalogue entry\]. Data release DR1 (2026-08-21). https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-3971

```bibtex
@misc{spacecatalog_ngc-3971,
  author       = {{SpaceCatalog}},
  title        = {{NGC 3971}},
  howpublished = {SpaceCatalog, data release DR1 (2026-08-21)},
  year         = {2026},
  url          = {https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-3971},
  note         = {Catalogue entry, data release DR1 (2026-08-21). Values from OpenNGC.}
}
```

OpenNGC — CC-BY-SA-4.0

Acknowledgement the producer asks for: OpenNGC, Mattia Verga (github.com/mattiaverga/OpenNGC). Fields derived from it stay under CC BY-SA 4.0.

The page itself, with its pictures, the sky map and the observing tools: https://spacecatalog.org/object/ngc-3971