NGC 4522

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NGC 4522
Ngc4522-hst-R814G606B435.jpg
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 4522.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Virgo
Right ascension 12h 33m 39.7ss [1]
Declination 09° 10′ 30″ [1]
Redshift 0.007769 [1]
Heliocentric radial velocity 2329 km/s [1]
Distance 56.4 Mly [2]
Group or cluster Virgo Cluster
Apparent magnitude  (V)13.0 [1]
Characteristics
Type SB(s)cd [1]
Size~68,850 ly (estimated) [1]
Apparent size  (V)3.95 x 0.84 [1]
Other designations
CGCG 70-168, IRAS 12311+0926, MCG 2-32-137, PGC 41729, UGC 7711, VCC 1516 [1]

NGC 4522 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 60 million light-years away within the Virgo Cluster [3] in the constellation Virgo. [4] NGC 4522 is losing its molecular gas though ram-pressure stripping as it plows though the cluster at a speed of more than 10 million kilometres per hour. [5] The galaxy was discovered by astronomer John Herschel on January 18, 1828. [6]

Contents

Ram-pressure stripping

The selectively disturbed interstellar medium (ISM) of NGC 4522, together with a normal-appearing stellar disk, strongly suggest that the galaxy is undergoing ram-pressure stripping caused by an interaction between the intracluster medium (ICM) of the surrounding Virgo Cluster with the ISM of the galaxy itself. [7]

However at NGC 4522's projected distance from Messier 87 (~1 Mpc), and assumption of a static smooth ICM and other "standard values", the force of the ram-pressure stripping exerted at the galaxy's location appears to be an order of magnitude less than needed to cause the observed truncation of the galaxy's gas disk. Despite this, NGC 4522 may have recently passed through a region of enhanced ICM density. Possibly, the infall of the Messier 49 group into the Virgo Cluster has stirred up the ICM of the cluster, locally enhancing the ram pressure exerted on NGC 4522. [8] [9]

GALEX image of NGC 4522 showing the gas in the galaxy being stripped. GALEX NGC 4522.jpg
GALEX image of NGC 4522 showing the gas in the galaxy being stripped.

Features

In NGC 4522, there are several features that have been suggested to be attributes of ram-pressure stripping.

The northeast region of NGC 4522, contains a large, continuous dust lane that curves out of the disk of the galaxy that is known as "The dust upturn”. The region also contains a wide lane of stars, including many young blue stars that has been named "The stellar upturn". At the top of the upturn, there are a couple of distinct HII regions.

The southwest region features a number of decoupled extraplanar dust clouds and an arm structure containing a number of HII regions and groupings of bright young blue stars. [10]

Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 4522 showing a number of newly formed star clusters that formed in the stripped gas. NGC 4522 Hubble heic0911b.jpg
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 4522 showing a number of newly formed star clusters that formed in the stripped gas.

Star formation

As a consequence of ram-pressure stripping, NGC 4522 has a shrunken star forming disk with an enhanced rate of star formation in the inner regions while there is lack of star formation in the outer disk.

Some of the newly formed stars in NGC 4522 are forming in H II regions in filaments of stripped gas rising from the star forming disk of the galaxy. These stars may enter the halo of NGC 4522 or escape into intergalactic space. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Messier 86 is an elliptical or lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. M86 lies in the heart of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and forms a most conspicuous group with another large galaxy known as Messier 84. It displays the highest blue shift of all Messier objects, as it is, net of its other vectors of travel, approaching the Milky Way at 244 km/s. This is due to both galaxies falling roughly towards the center of the Virgo cluster from opposing ends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 90</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4216</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4216 is a metal-rich intermediate spiral galaxy located not far from the center of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, roughly 55 million light-years away. It is seen nearly edge-on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyes Galaxies</span> Pair of galaxies in the constellation Virgo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4450</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4450 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4921</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anemic galaxy</span> Type of spiral galaxy characterized by a low contrast between its spiral arms and the disk

An anemic galaxy is a type of spiral galaxy characterized by a low contrast between its spiral arms and its disk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4651</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4654</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4654 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation of Virgo at a distance of 55 million light years from the Milky Way that can be spotted with amateur telescopes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4402</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4402 is a relatively near, edge-on spiral galaxy located around 50 million light-years from Earth. It is in the constellation of Virgo within the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It can be seen when viewing Markarian's Chain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4457</span> Galaxy in the constellation of Virgo

NGC 4457 is an intermediate spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. It is also classified as a LINER galaxy, a class of active galaxy defined by their spectral line emissions. NGC 4457 Is inclined by about 33°. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on February 23, 1784. Despite being listed in the Virgo Cluster Catalog as VCC 1145, NGC 4457 is a member of the Virgo II Groups which form an extension of the Virgo cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4606</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4606 is a spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. NGC 4606 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784. It has a disturbed stellar disk suggesting the actions of gravitational interactions. NGC 4607 may be a possible companion of NGC 4606. However, their redshifts differ by about 600 km/s, making it unlikely that they are a gravitationally bound pair. NGC 4606 is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4476</span> Galaxy in the constellation of Virgo

NGC 4476 is a lenticular galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. NGC 4476 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784. The galaxy is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4580</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4580 is an unbarred spiral galaxy located about 70 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. NGC 4580 is also classified as a LINER galaxy. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on February 2, 1786 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4607</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4607 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 56 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. NGC 4607 was discovered by astronomer R. J. Mitchell on April 24, 1854. The galaxy is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4222</span> Edge-on spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4222 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is often misidentified as IC 3087. NGC 4222 is a member of the Virgo Cluster and is a companion of NGC 4216 which lies about 180,000 ly (56 kpc) away. Despite this, the two galaxies are not interacting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4294</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4294 is a barred spiral galaxy with flocculent spiral arms located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4298</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4298 is a flocculent spiral galaxy located about 53 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4299</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4299 is a featureless spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on March 15, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4302</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4302 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 4522. Retrieved 2017-12-15.
  2. ↑ "parsecs to lightyears conversion" . Retrieved 2017-09-30.
  3. ↑ "Your NED Search Results". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  4. ↑ "Revised NGC Data for NGC 4522". spider.seds.org. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  5. ↑ "Hubble views NGC 4522". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 2017-12-16.
  6. ↑ "New General Catalog Objects: NGC 4500 - 4549". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2017-11-08.
  7. 1 2 Kenney, Jeffrey D. P.; Koopmann, Rebecca A. (1999). "Ongoing Gas Stripping in the Virgo Cluster Spiral Galaxy NGC 4522". The Astronomical Journal. 117 (1): 181. arXiv: astro-ph/9812363 . Bibcode:1999AJ....117..181K. doi:10.1086/300683. ISSN   1538-3881. S2CID   12775150.
  8. ↑ Kenney, Jeffrey D. P.; Gorkom, J. H. van; Vollmer, B. (2004). "VLA H I Observations of Gas Stripping in the Virgo Cluster Spiral NGC 4522". The Astronomical Journal. 127 (6): 3361–3374. arXiv: astro-ph/0403103 . Bibcode:2004AJ....127.3361K. doi:10.1086/420805. ISSN   1538-3881. S2CID   18162129.
  9. ↑ Vollmer, B.; Soida, M.; Otmianowska-Mazur, K.; Kenney, J. D. P.; Gorkom, J. H. van; Beck, R. (2006-07-01). "A dynamical model for the heavily ram pressure stripped Virgo spiral galaxy NGC 4522". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 453 (3): 883–893. arXiv: astro-ph/0603854 . Bibcode:2006A&A...453..883V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20064954. ISSN   0004-6361. S2CID   16097635.
  10. ↑ Abramson, A.; Kenney, J.; Crowl, H.; Tal, T. (2016). "HST Imaging of Dust Structures and Stars in the Ram Pressure Stripped Virgo Spirals NGC 4402 and NGC 4522: Stripped from the Outside In with Dense Cloud Decoupling". The Astronomical Journal. 152 (2): 32. arXiv: 1604.01883 . Bibcode:2016AJ....152...32A. doi: 10.3847/0004-6256/152/2/32 . ISSN   1538-3881. S2CID   118363603.
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