NGC 4762

NGC 4762

Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Virgo
Right ascension 12h 52m 56.05s[1]
Declination +11° 13′ 51″[1]
Redshift 986 ± 5 km/s[1]
Distance 58 Mly (17.8 Mpc)[1]
Type SB(r)0^0^ [1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 8′.7 × 1′.7[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 10.1
Other designations
UGC 8016, PGC 43733[1]

NGC 4762 is an edge-on lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It is at a distance of 60 million light years and is a member of the Virgo Cluster. The edge-on view of this particular galaxy, originally considered to be a barred spiral galaxy, makes it difficult to determine its true shape, but it is considered that the galaxy consists of four main components — a central bulge, a bar, a thick disc and an outer ring. The galaxy's disc is asymmetric and warped, which could be explained by NGC 4762 mergering with a smaller galaxy in the past. The remains of this former companion may then have settled within NGC 4762's disc, redistributing the gas and stars and so changing the disc's morphology.[2]

NGC 4762 contains a Liner-type active galactic nucleus, a highly energetic central region. This nucleus is detectable due to its particular spectral line emission, allowing astronomers to measure the composition of the region.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 4762. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  2. 1 2 "A galaxy on the edge". www.spacetelescope.org. ESA/Hubble & NASA. Retrieved 25 January 2016.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, April 24, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.