NGC 4414 | |
---|---|
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Coma Berenices |
Right ascension | 12h 26m 27.1491s [1] |
Declination | +31° 13′ 24.694″ [1] |
Redshift | 716 ± 6 km/s [1] |
Distance | 62.3 Mly [2] |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.0 [1] |
Characteristics | |
Type | SA(rs)c [1] |
Apparent size (V) | 3.6′ × 2.0′ [1] |
Other designations | |
IRAS 12239+3129, ARK 365, UGC 7539, MCG +05-29-085, PGC 40692, CGCG 158-108, SDSS J122627.12+311324.5 [1] |
NGC 4414, also known as the Dusty Spiral Galaxy, [3] is an unbarred spiral galaxy about 62 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 13 March 1785. [4]
NGC 4414 is a flocculent spiral galaxy, with short segments of spiral structure but without the dramatic well-defined spiral arms of a grand design spiral.
The galaxy was imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995, as part of the HST's main mission to determine the distance to galaxies, and again in 1999 as part of the Hubble Heritage project. It has been part of an ongoing effort to study its Cepheid variable stars. The outer arms appear blue due to the continuing formation of young stars and include a possible luminous blue variable with an absolute magnitude of −10. [5]
NGC 4414 is also an isolated galaxy without signs of past interactions with other galaxies [6] and despite not being a starburst galaxy shows a high density and richness of gas – both atomic and molecular, with the former extending far beyond its optical disk. [7]
NGC 4414 is a member of the Coma I Group, a group of galaxies lying physically close to the Virgo Cluster. [8] [9]
Four supernovae have been observed in NGC 4414: SN 1974G (type I, mag. 13), [10] SN 2013df (type II, mag. 14), [11] SN 2021J (type Ia, mag. 12), [12] and SN 2023hlf (type II, mag. 17.8). [13]
Coma Berenices is an ancient asterism in the northern sky, which has been defined as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is in the direction of the fourth galactic quadrant, between Leo and Boötes, and it is visible in both hemispheres. Its name means "Berenice's Hair" in Latin and refers to Queen Berenice II of Egypt, who sacrificed her long hair as a votive offering. It was introduced to Western astronomy during the third century BC by Conon of Samos and was further corroborated as a constellation by Gerardus Mercator and Tycho Brahe. It is the only modern constellation named after a historic person.
Messier 61 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It was first discovered by Barnaba Oriani on May 5, 1779, six days before Charles Messier discovered the same galaxy. Messier had observed it on the same night as Oriani but had mistaken it for a comet. Its distance has been estimated to be 45.61 million light years from the Milky Way Galaxy. It is a member of the M61 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.
Messier 66 or M66, also known as NGC 3627, is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the southern, equatorial half of Leo. It was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier on 1 March 1780, who described it as "very long and very faint". This galaxy is a member of a small group of galaxies that includes M65 and NGC 3628, known as the Leo Triplet or the M66 Group. M65 and M66 are a common object for amateur astronomic observation, being separated by only 20′.
NGC 2403 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Camelopardalis. It is an outlying member of the M81 Group, and is approximately 8 million light-years distant. It bears a similarity to M33, being about 50,000 light years in diameter and containing numerous star-forming H II regions. The northern spiral arm connects it to the star forming region NGC 2404. NGC 2403 can be observed using 10×50 binoculars. NGC 2404 is 940 light-years in diameter, making it one of the largest known H II regions. This H II region represents striking similarity with NGC 604 in M33, both in size and location in galaxy.
Messier 106 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781. M106 is at a distance of about 22 to 25 million light-years away from Earth. M106 contains an active nucleus classified as a Type 2 Seyfert, and the presence of a central supermassive black hole has been demonstrated from radio-wavelength observations of the rotation of a disk of molecular gas orbiting within the inner light-year around the black hole. NGC 4217 is a possible companion galaxy of Messier 106. Besides the two visible arms, it has two "anomalous arms" detectable using an X-ray telescope.
NGC 4725 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy with a prominent ring structure, located in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices near the north galactic pole. It was discovered by German-born British astronomer William Herschel on April 6, 1785. The galaxy lies at a distance of approximately 40 megalight-years from the Milky Way. NGC 4725 is the brightest member of the Coma I Group of the Coma-Sculptor Cloud, although it is relatively isolated from the other members of this group. This galaxy is strongly disturbed and is interacting with neighboring spiral galaxy NGC 4747, with its spiral arms showing indications of warping. The pair have an angular separation of 24′, which corresponds to a projected linear separation of 370 kly. A tidal plume extends from NGC 4747 toward NGC 4725.
NGC 2442 and NGC 2443 are two parts of a single intermediate spiral galaxy, commonly known as the Meathook Galaxy or the Cobra and Mouse. It is about 50 million light-years away in the constellation Volans. It was discovered by Sir John Herschel on December 23, 1834 during his survey of southern skies with a 18.25 inch diameter reflecting telescope from an observatory he set up in Cape Town, South Africa. Associated with this galaxy is HIPASS J0731-69, a cloud of gas devoid of any stars. It is likely that the cloud was torn loose from NGC 2442 by a companion.
NGC 2841 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Major. It was discovered on 9 March, 1788 by German-born astronomer William Herschel. J. L. E. Dreyer, the author of the New General Catalogue, described it as, "very bright, large, very much extended 151°, very suddenly much brighter middle equal to 10th magnitude star". Initially thought to be about 30 million light-years distant, a 2001 Hubble Space Telescope survey of the galaxy's Cepheid variables determined its distance to be approximately 14.1 megaparsecs or 46 million light-years. The optical size of the galaxy is 8.1′ × 3.5′.
Arp 240 is a pair of interacting spiral galaxies located in the constellation Virgo. The two galaxies are listed together as Arp 240 in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. The galaxy on the right is known as NGC 5257, while the galaxy on the left is known as NGC 5258. Both galaxies are distorted by the gravitational interaction, and both are connected by a tidal bridge, as can be seen in images of these galaxies.
NGC 4559 is an intermediate spiral galaxy with a weak inner ring structure in the constellation Coma Berenices. Distance estimates for NGC 4559 range from about 28 million light-years to 31 million light-years, averaging about 29 million light-years. It was discovered on 11 April 1785 by German-British astronomer William Herschel.
NGC 4639 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered by German-born astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784. John L. E. Dreyer described it as "pretty bright, small, extended, mottled but not resolved, 12th magnitude star 1 arcmin to southeast". This is a relatively nearby galaxy, lying approximately 72 million light-years away from the Milky Way. It is a companion to NGC 4654, and the two appear to have interacted roughly 500 million years ago. NGC 4639 is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
NGC 925 is a barred spiral galaxy located about 30 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. German-British astronomer William Herschel discovered this galaxy on 13 September 1784.
NGC 4651 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Coma Berenices that can be seen with amateur telescopes, at a distance not well determined that ranges from 35 million light years to 72 million light years.
NGC 4571 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Coma Berenices that William Herschel thought was Messier 91 in Charles Messier' catalog of deep-sky objects, before nearly two centuries later that object was determined to be the nearby barred spiral galaxy NGC 4548.
NGC 3198, also known as Herschel 146 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. It was discovered by William Herschel on 15 January 1788. NGC 3198 is located in the Leo Spur, which is part of the Virgo Supercluster, and is approximately 47 million light years away.
NGC 3021 is a spiral galaxy in the northern constellation of Leo Minor. It is about 93 million light-years away from Earth, and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 1,537±4 km/s. This galaxy was discovered December 7, 1785 by Anglo-German astronomer William Herschel. The morphological classification of NGC 3021 is SA(rs)bc, which indicates a spiral galaxy with no central bar (SA), an incomplete inner ring structure (rs), and moderate to loosely wound spiral arms (bc).
NGC 1084 is an unbarred spiral galaxy in the constellation Eridanus. It is located at a distance of about 63 million light-years away from the Milky Way. The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on 10 January 1785. It has multiple spiral arms, which are not well defined. It belongs in the same galaxy group with NGC 988, NGC 991, NGC 1022, NGC 1035, NGC 1042, NGC 1047, NGC 1052 and NGC 1110. This group is in turn associated with the Messier 77 group.
NGC 5468 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is located at a distance of about 140 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 5468 is about 110,000 light-years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 5, 1785.
NGC 4614 is a barred lenticular galaxy in the New General Catalog. It is located in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered in 1864 by the German astronomer Heinrich d'Arrest with a 11.9 inch diameter lens type telescope.
NGC 4375 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Coma Berenices. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 9325 ± 20 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 137.54 ± 9.63 Mpc. However, four non-redshift measurements give a distance of 105.5 Mpc. The galaxy was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 11 April 1785.