NGC 4639

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NGC 4639
Elegant spiral hides a hungry monster.jpg
NGC 4639 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope [1]
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Virgo
Right ascension 12h 42m 52.37814s [2]
Declination +13° 15 26.7129 [2]
Heliocentric radial velocity 989 km/s [3]
Distance 72.02 ± 0.23  Mly (22.08 ± 0.07  Mpc) [3]
Group or cluster Virgo Cluster
Apparent magnitude  (V)12.2 [4]
Characteristics
Type SAB(rs)bc [5]
Apparent size  (V)2′.8 × 1′.9 [4]
Notable featuresSeyfert type 1
Other designations
IRAS 12403+1331, LEDA 42741, MCG+02-32-189, NGC 4639, UGC 7884, VCC 1943, [6] PGC 42741 [4]

NGC 4639 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered by German-born astronomer William Herschel on 12 April 1784. John L. E. Dreyer described it as "pretty bright, small, extended, mottled but not resolved, 12th magnitude star 1 arcmin to southeast". [7] This is a relatively nearby galaxy, [8] lying approximately 72 million light-years away from the Milky Way. [3] It is a companion to NGC 4654, and the two appear to have interacted roughly 500 million years ago. [9] NGC 4639 is a member of the Virgo Cluster. [10]

Contents

The morphological classification of this galaxy is SAB(rs)bc, [5] indicating a spiral galaxy with a weak bar (SAB), an incomplete ring around the bar (rs), and moderate to loosely-wound spiral arms (bc). NGC 4639 has a mildly active galactic nucleus of the Seyfert type 1; one of the weakest known. The compact central source has been detected by its X-ray emission, and is variable on timescales of months to years. [8] There is a supermassive black hole at the core [11] with an estimated mass of 7.9×106  M . [12]

Supernovae

Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 4639:

References

  1. "Elegant spiral hides a hungry monster". Hubble Space Telescope. ESA. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  2. 1 2 Brown, A. G. A.; et al. (Gaia collaboration) (August 2018). "Gaia Data Release 2: Summary of the contents and survey properties". Astronomy & Astrophysics . 616. A1. arXiv: 1804.09365 . Bibcode: 2018A&A...616A...1G . doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/201833051 . Gaia DR2 record for this source at VizieR.
  3. 1 2 3 Tully, R. Brent; et al. (October 2013), "Cosmicflows-2: The Data", The Astronomical Journal, 146 (4): 25, arXiv: 1307.7213 , Bibcode:2013AJ....146...86T, doi:10.1088/0004-6256/146/4/86, S2CID   118494842, 86
  4. 1 2 3 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 4639. Retrieved 2007-04-01.
  5. 1 2 Graham, Alister W.; et al. (March 2019). "Expected intermediate-mass black holes in the Virgo cluster - II. Late-type galaxies". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 484 (1): 814–831. arXiv: 1811.03232 . Bibcode:2019MNRAS.484..814G. doi: 10.1093/mnras/sty3068 . S2CID   119303249.
  6. "NGC 4639". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 2020-09-21.
  7. Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue objects: NGC 4600 - 4649". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
  8. 1 2 Ho, Luis C.; et al. (November 1999). "X-Ray Properties of the Weak Seyfert 1 Nucleus in NGC 4639". The Astrophysical Journal. 525 (1): 168–175. arXiv: astro-ph/9905013 . Bibcode:1999ApJ...525..168H. doi:10.1086/307898. S2CID   14517224.
  9. Vollmer, B. (February 2003). "NGC 4654: Gravitational interaction or ram pressure stripping?". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 398 (2): 525–539. arXiv: astro-ph/0211321 . Bibcode:2003A&A...398..525V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20021729. S2CID   7265130.
  10. "Detailed Object Classifications". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  11. Botkin-Kowacki, Eva (13 October 2015). "Spectacular Hubble photo: A bright galaxy holds a hidden secret". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  12. Chiaraluce, E.; et al. (May 2019). "From radio-quiet to radio-silent: low-luminosity Seyfert radio cores". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 485 (3): 3185–3202. arXiv: 1902.10670 . Bibcode:2019MNRAS.485.3185C. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stz595 . S2CID   119089306.
  13. 1 2 Maury, A.; et al. (June 1990). Green, D. W. E. (ed.). "Supernova 1990N in NGC 4639". IAU Circular. 5039: 1. Bibcode:1990IAUC.5039....1M.
  14. "SN 1990N". Transient Name Server. IAU . Retrieved 6 December 2024.
  15. 1 2 Saha, A.; et al. (September 1997). "Cepheid Calibration of the Peak Brightness of Type Ia Supernovae. VIII. SN 1990N in NGC 4639". The Astrophysical Journal. 486 (1): 1–20. Bibcode:1997ApJ...486....1S. doi:10.1086/304507.
  16. "SN 2018imf". Transient Name Server. IAU . Retrieved 6 December 2024.