It has a diameter of 80,000 lyr.[3] The galaxy's most conspicuous feature is the dusty lanes of a spiral arm lying across the core of the galaxy as seen from Earth, the arm having been bent 45 degrees by a close encounter with a smaller galaxy possibly NGC 2146a about 0.8 billion years ago.[3] This close encounter is credited with the relatively high rates of star formation that qualify NGC 2146 as a starburst galaxy.[3]
^"Astronomers discover new type of supernova". RTE News. PA. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021. In 1980, Ken'ichi Nomoto of the University of Tokyo predicted a third type called an electron capture supernova. ... In an electron capture supernova, as the core runs out of fuel, gravity forces electrons in the core into their atomic nuclei, causing the star to collapse in on itself.
^"SN 2018zd". Transient Name Server. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.