I Zwicky 36

I Zwicky 36, often abbreviated to I Zw 36, is a galaxy in the constellation of Canes Venatici. It is located at a distance of about 5.8 megaparsecs from the Milky Way.^[2]

I Zw 36
Blue compact dwarf galaxy known as Markarian 209 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Canes Venatici
Right ascension	12h 26m 16.02s[1]
Declination	+48° 29′ 36.6″[1]
Redshift	0.000941[1]
Heliocentric radial velocity	282 km/s[1]
Distance	19 Mly (5.8 Mpc)[2]
Apparent magnitude (B)	15.3[1]
Absolute magnitude (V)	−14.7[2]
Characteristics
Type	Blue compact dwarf[2]
Other designations
Mrk 209, PG 1223+488, UGCA 281, Z 1223.9+4846, Anon 1223+48, PG 1223+487, UZC J122617.1+482938, [H56] 29, LEDA 40665, SBSG 1223+487, ZW I 36, MCG+08-23-035, TC 211[1]

I Zwicky 36 is an irregular galaxy, specifically a blue compact dwarf galaxy. These galaxies are small, and have high rates of star formation, making them appear bluish in color. The dominant population of stars in I Zw 36 is young in stellar terms, with ages of under 3 million years.^[3] It is quite isolated: the nearest galaxy is Messier 94 (NGC 4736) which is about 1.4 megaparsecs away, although the galaxy may have experienced a merger in the past that could explain its current burst of star formation.^[2]