NGC 3985

NGC 3985 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It is located at a distance of circa 45 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 3726 is about 18,000 light years across.[1] NGC 3985 is situated north of the celestial equator and, as such, it is more easily visible from the Northern Hemisphere.[2] The galaxy appears to have one spiral arm.[3]

NGC 3985
Observation data
Constellation	Ursa Major
Right ascension	11h 56m 42s
Declination	+48° 20’ 02”
Redshift	0.003163
Distance	46.1 ± 13.5 Mly (14.1 ± 4.1 Mpc)[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	12.6
Surface brightness	21.62 mag/arcsec2
Characteristics
Type	SB(s)m[1]
Size	17,700 ly[1]
Apparent size (V)	1.3′ × 0.8′[1]
Other designations
PGC 37542, UGC 6921, MCG 8-22-45, CGCG 243-31, IRAS 11541+4836, ARAK 334, KCPG 310

NGC 3985 belongs in the NGC 3877 group,[4] which is part of the south Ursa Major groups, part of the Virgo Supercluster.[5] Other galaxies in the same group are NGC 3726, NGC 3893, NGC 3896, NGC 3906, NGC 3928, NGC 3949, and NGC 4010.[4]