3C 171

{{short description|Galaxy located in the constellation Lynx}}

{{Infobox galaxy

| name = 3C 171

| image = 3C 171 cutout HST 05476 2l wfpc2 f702w pc sci.jpg

|caption= 3C 171 by the Hubble Space Telescope

| epoch = J2000

| ra = {{RA|06|55|14.7}}{{cite web |url=http://simbad.u-strasbg.fr/simbad/sim-id?Ident=3C+171 |title=Query : 3C 171 |website=Simbad |publisher=Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg |access-date=2 June 2015}}

| dec = {{DEC|+54|08|89}}

| constellation name = Lynx

| z = 0.238400{{cite web

|website=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database

|title=NED results for object 3C 171

|url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=3C+171&extend=no

|access-date=2 June 2015 }}

| type = Sy2, Rad, AGN, QSO, G
G, FR II, Sy 2

| dist_ly = {{convert|930|Mpc|ly|lk=on}} {{hub|0.73|link=yes}}

| appmag_v = 19.08

| size_v =

| notes =

| names = LEDA 2817570, 3C 171, 4C +54.11, QSO B0651+542

}}

3C 171 is a Seyfert galaxy located in the constellation Lynx, classfied as a radio galaxy, containing an extended emission-line region.{{Cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=N. E. |last2=Axon |first2=D. J. |last3=Tadhunter |first3=C. N. |last4=Robinson |first4=A. |last5=O'Brien |first5=P. |date=1998-02-01 |title=Jet-induced Shocks in 3C 171: An Intermediate-Redshift Analog of High-Redshift Radio Galaxies |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1998ApJ...494..546C/abstract |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=494 |issue=2 |pages=546–566 |doi=10.1086/305225 |bibcode=1998ApJ...494..546C |issn=0004-637X}}{{Cite journal |last=Hardcastle |first=M. J. |date=2003-02-21 |title=Probing the extended emission-line region in 3C 171 with high-frequency radio polarimetry |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=339 |issue=2 |pages=360–366 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-8711.2003.06102.x |doi-access=free |arxiv=astro-ph/0209612 |bibcode=2003MNRAS.339..360H |issn=0035-8711}} It is also a relatively isolated galaxy, not belonging to any other rich galaxy clusters.{{Cite journal |last1=McNamara |first1=B. R. |last2=Sarazin |first2=C. L. |last3=Jannuzi |first3=B. T. |date=1994-12-01 |title=Radio-Aligned Blue Lobes in the Nearby Radio Galaxy 3C 171 |journal=American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1994AAS...18510909M/abstract |volume=185 |pages=109.09|bibcode=1994AAS...18510909M }}

The inner regions of 3C 171 is said to be similar to an ordinary Fanaroff-Riley Class 2, but instead of radio lobes, it contains low-surface brightness plumes. Using the multi-radio-frequency study, the plumes of 3C 171 are shown to flow in a reverse direction from both the primary and secondary hotspots, found separated. In one of the plumes located north-west, the region shows enhanced brightness, making it a quasi-hotspot.{{Cite journal |last=Blundell |first=Katherine M. |date=1996-11-01 |title=Evidence for widely separated primary and secondary hotspots in 3C 171 |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=283 |issue=2 |pages=538–542 |doi=10.1093/mnras/283.2.538 |doi-access=free |bibcode=1996MNRAS.283..538B |issn=0035-8711}} Further evidence also points the emission lines in 3C 171 are made up of plasma, hinting the gas might be cooling.{{Cite journal |last1=Heckman |first1=T. M. |last2=van Breugel |first2=W. J. M. |last3=Miley |first3=G. K. |date=1984-11-01 |title=Emission-line gas associated with the radio lobes of the high-luminosity radiosource 3C 171. |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1984ApJ...286..509H/abstract |journal=The Astrophysical Journal |volume=286 |pages=509–516 |doi=10.1086/162626 |bibcode=1984ApJ...286..509H |hdl=1887/6468 |issn=0004-637X|hdl-access=free }}