NGC 4698

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NGC 4698
N4698s.jpg
NGC 4698 imaged with the 32-inch Schulman Telescope at Mount Lemmon Observatory
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Virgo
Right ascension 12h 34m 20.310s [1]
Declination +08° 11 51.94 [1]
Helio radial velocity 1,002 [2] km/s
Distance 54.8 Mly (16.8 Mpc) [3]
Group or cluster Virgo Cluster
Apparent magnitude  (V)10.6 [4]
Apparent magnitude  (B)11.46 [5]
Characteristics
Type SA(s)ab [3]
Apparent size  (V)4′.0 × 2′.9 [4]
Notable featuresSeyfert-2 galaxy [6]
Other designations
PGC 43254, UGC 7970, VCC 2070

NGC 4698 is a barred spiral galaxy [5] located around 55 [3] million light years away from Earth in the constellation of Virgo. It belongs to the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and is positioned near the northeastern edge of this assemblage. [4] The morphological classification of NGC 4698 in the De Vaucouleurs system is SA(s)ab, [3] which indicates a purely spiral structure with moderate to tightly wound arms. [7] It is inclined to the line of sight from the Earth by an angle of 53° along a position angle of 170°. [8]

Contents

A unique feature of this galaxy is that the stars and dust of the nuclear disk are rotating in a direction that is aligned perpendicularly to the galactic disk. The bulge likewise appears elongated out of the galactic plane. This unusual alignment may have been the result of a past merger event. [5]

NGC 4698 is classified as a Seyfert-2 galaxy with an active galactic nucleus, which displays a prominent emission of radio and X-ray energy from the core while showing narrow emission lines in the optical spectrum. [6] The unified model of Seyfert galaxies proposes that the nucleus of a Seyfert 2 galaxy is obscured by a thick torus of gas and dust. However, the varying X-ray emission of the core of NGC 4698 shows little indication of being obstructed, suggesting instead that the source of the energy emission is generally unobscured but anemic in nature. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seyfert galaxy</span> Class of active galaxies with very bright nuclei

Seyfert galaxies are one of the two largest groups of active galaxies, along with quasars. They have quasar-like nuclei with very high surface brightnesses whose spectra reveal strong, high-ionisation emission lines, but unlike quasars, their host galaxies are clearly detectable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Eye Galaxy</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

The Black Eye Galaxy is a relatively isolated spiral galaxy 17 million light-years away in the mildly northern constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered by Edward Pigott in March 1779, and independently by Johann Elert Bode in April of the same year, as well as by Charles Messier the next year. A dark band of absorbing dust partially in front of its bright nucleus gave rise to its nicknames of the "Black Eye", "Evil Eye", or "Sleeping Beauty" galaxy. M64 is well known among amateur astronomers due to its form in small telescopes and visibility across inhabited latitudes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sombrero Galaxy</span> Peculiar galaxy in the constellation Virgo

The Sombrero Galaxy (also known as Messier Object 104, M104 or NGC 4594) is a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification in the constellation borders of Virgo and Corvus, being about 9.55 megaparsecs (31.1 million light-years) from the Milky Way galaxy. It 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. It has a D25 isophotal diameter of approximately 29.09 kiloparsecs (94,900 light-years), making it slightly bigger in size than the Milky Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4725</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

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 astronomer William Herschel on April 6, 1785. The galaxy lies at a distance of approximately 40 megalight-years from the Milky Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3227</span> Galaxy in the constellation Leo

NGC 3227 is an intermediate spiral galaxy that is interacting with the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 3226. The two galaxies are one of several examples of a spiral with a dwarf elliptical companion that are listed in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. Both galaxies may be found in the constellation Leo. It is a member of the NGC 3227 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3226</span> Dwarf elliptical galaxy in the constellation Leo

NGC 3226 is a dwarf elliptical galaxy that is interacting with the spiral galaxy NGC 3227. The two galaxies are one of several examples of a spiral with a dwarf elliptical companion that are listed in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. Both galaxies may be found in the constellation Leo. It is a member of the NGC 3227 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3486</span> Galaxy in the constellation Leo Minor

NGC 3486 is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy located about 27.4 million light years away in the constellation of Leo Minor. It has a morphological classification of SAB(r)c, which indicates it is a weakly barred spiral with an inner ring and loosely wound arms. This is a borderline, low-luminosity Seyfert galaxy with an active nucleus. However, no radio or X-ray emission has been detected from the core, and it may only have a small supermassive black hole with less than a million times the mass of the Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5548</span> Type I Seyfert galaxy in the constellation Boötes

NGC 5548 is a Type I Seyfert galaxy with a bright, active nucleus. This activity is caused by matter flowing onto a 65 million solar mass (M) supermassive black hole at the core. Morphologically, this is an unbarred lenticular galaxy with tightly-wound spiral arms, while shell and tidal tail features suggest that it has undergone a cosmologically-recent merger or interaction event. NGC 5548 is approximately 245 million light years away and appears in the constellation Boötes. The apparent visual magnitude of NGC 5548 is approximately 13.3 in the V band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4536</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4536 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo located about 10° south of the midpoint of the Virgo cluster. However, it is not considered a member of the cluster. Rather, 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. The morphological classification in the De Vaucouleurs system is SAB(rs)bc, which indicates it is a weakly barred spiral galaxy with a hint of an inner ring structure plus moderate to loosely wound arms. It does not have a classical bulge around the nucleus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4639</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7319</span> Galaxy in the constellation Pegasus

NGC 7319 is a highly distorted barred spiral galaxy that is a member of the compact Stephan's Quintet group located in the constellation Pegasus, some 311 megalight-years distant from the Milky Way. The galaxy's arms, dust and gas have been highly disturbed as a result of the interaction with the other members of the Quintet. Nearly all of the neutral hydrogen has been stripped from this galaxy, most likely as a result of a collision with NGC 7320c some 100 million years ago. A pair of long, parallel tidal tails extend southward from NGC 7319 in the direction of NGC 7320c, and is undergoing star formation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3169</span> Galaxy in the constellation Sextans

NGC 3169 is a spiral galaxy about 75 million light years away in the constellation Sextans. It has the morphological classification SA(s)a pec, which indicates this is a pure, unbarred spiral galaxy with tightly-wound arms and peculiar features. There is an asymmetrical spiral arm and an extended halo around the galaxy. It is a member of the NGC 3166 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Leo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the right edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3783</span> Galaxy in the constellation Centaurus

NGC 3783 is a barred spiral galaxy located about 135 million light years away in the constellation Centaurus. It is inclined by an angle of 23° to the line of sight from the Earth along a position angle of about 163°. The morphological classification of SBa indicates a bar structure across the center (B) and tightly-wound spiral arms (a). Although not shown by this classification, observers note the galaxy has a luminous inner ring surrounding the bar structure. The bright compact nucleus is active and categorized as a Seyfert 1 type. This nucleus is a strong source of X-ray emission and undergoes variations in emission across the electromagnetic spectrum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4030</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4030 is a grand design spiral galaxy located about 64 million light years away in the constellation Virgo. It is a member of the NGC 4030 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. With an apparent visual magnitude of 10.6, it is visible with a small telescope as a 3 arc minute wide feature about 4.75° to the southeast of the star Beta Virginis. It is inclined by an angle of 47.1° to the line of sight from the Earth and is receding at a velocity of 1,465 km/s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4535</span> Spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4535 is a barred spiral galaxy located some 54 million light years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and is located 4.3° from Messier 87. The galactic plane of NGC 4535 is inclined by an angle of 43° to the line of sight from the Earth. The morphological classification of NGC 4535 in the De Vaucouleurs system is SAB(s)c, which indicates a bar structure across the core (SAB), no ring (s), and loosely wound spiral arms (c). The inner part of the galaxy has two spiral arms, which branch into multiple arms further away. The small nucleus is of type HII, meaning the spectrum resembles that of an H II region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4388</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4388 is an active spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered April 17, 1784 by Wilhelm Herschel. This galaxy is located at a distance of 57 million light years and is receding with a radial velocity of 2,524 km/s. It is one of the brightest galaxies of the Virgo Cluster due to its luminous nucleus. NGC 4388 is located 1.3° to the west of the cluster center, which translates to a projected distance of ≈400 kpc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4293</span> Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices

NGC 4293 is a lenticular galaxy in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered by English astronomer William Herschel on March 14, 1784, who described it as "large, extended, resolvable, 6 or 7′ long". This galaxy is positioned to the north-northwest of the star 11 Comae Berenices and is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It is assumed to lie at the same distance as the Virgo Cluster itself: around 54 million light years away. The galaxy spans an apparent area of 5.3 × 3.1 arc minutes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4138</span> Galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici

NGC 4138 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a lenticular galaxy in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici. Located around 52 million light years from Earth, it spans some 2.1 × 1.3 arc minutes and has an apparent visual magnitude of 11.3. The morphological classification of NGC 4138 is SA0+(r), indicating it lacks a bar formation and has tightly wound spiral arms with a ring-like structure around the nucleus. It has no nearby companion galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4178</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4178 is the New General Catalogue identifier for a barred spiral galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It was discovered April 11, 1825 by English astronomer John Herschel. Located some 43.8 million light years away, this galaxy spans 2.3 × 0.4 arc minutes and is seen at a low angle, being inclined by 77° to the line of sight from the Earth. The morphological classification of NGC 4178 is SB(rs)dm, indicating that it has a bar feature at the core, and, per the '(rs)', has traces of a ring-like structure surrounding the bar. The 'dm' suffix indicates the spiral arms are diffuse, broken, and irregular in appearance with no bulge at the nucleus. This galaxy is a member of the Virgo Cluster, which is the richest nearby group of galaxies outside the Local Group and forms the core of the Virgo Supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 7469</span> Galaxy located in the constellation Pegasus

NGC 7469 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation of Pegasus. NGC 7469 is located about 200 million light-years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 7469 is approximately 90,000 light-years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on November 12, 1784.

References

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