NGC 4261
J2000 epoch) | |
---|---|
Constellation | Virgo |
Right ascension | 12h 19m 23.21606s[1] |
Declination | +05° 49′ 29.7000″[1] |
Redshift | 0.007465[2] |
Heliocentric radial velocity | 2,238±7 km/s[2] |
Distance | 95.9 ± 8.5 Mly (29.4 ± 2.6 Mpc)[3] |
Group or cluster | NGC 4261 group, Virgo Cluster |
Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.87[4] |
Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.92[4] |
Characteristics | |
Type | E2[5] |
Apparent size (V) | 4′.17 × 3′.39[6] |
Other designations | |
NGC 4261, UGC 7360,[7] PGC 39659[2] |
NGC 4261 is an elliptical galaxy[8] located around 100 million light-years[9] away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered April 13, 1784, by the German-born astronomer William Herschel.[10] The galaxy is a member of its own somewhat meager[11] galaxy group known as the NGC 4261 group,[8] which is part of the Virgo Cluster.[10][dubious ]
The morphological classification of this galaxy is E2,[5] indicating an elliptical galaxy with a 5:4 ratio between the major and minor axes. The stellar population of the galaxy is old, showing no indications of recent mergers or interactions with other members of its group. Large-scale isophotes of the galaxy are generally boxy in form, with no markers that would suggest a disruptive interaction within the last billion years. There is a dust lane along the north–south axis of the galaxy and a disk of dust around the nucleus.
Two prominent jets emanating from the nucleus can be observed in the radio band. It has an active galactic nucleus with a supermassive black hole at the core with a mass of (4.9±1.0)×108 M☉.[11][12] The galaxy is estimated to be about 60 thousand light-years across,[13] and a jet emanating from it is estimated to span about 88 thousand light-years.[14]
A
Gallery
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AESA.
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Northern part of the NGC 4261 Group, with NGC 4261 at the bottom ant NGC 4260 at the top.
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Southern part of the NGC 4261 Group
References
- ^ S2CID 119200128. 3.
- ^ a b c "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 4261. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
- S2CID 551714.
- ^ . A10.
- ^ S2CID 46679854.
- .
- ^ "NGC 4261". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
- ^ doi:10.1086/175632.
- ^ "Massive Black Holes Dwell in Most Galaxies, According to Hubble Census". Hubblesite STScI-1997-01. 1997-01-13. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ a b Seligman, Courtney. "New General Catalogue objects: NGC 4250 - 4299". cseligman.com. Retrieved 2020-09-19.
- ^ S2CID 15195053.
- ^ "Hubble Finds a New Black Hole – and Unexpected New Mysteries". Hubblesite STScI-1995-47. 1995-12-04. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "The Virgo Cluster". An Atlas of the Universe. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ "The Giant Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4261". Astronomy 162 (Dept. Physics & Astronomy University of Tennessee). Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- Bibcode:2001IAUC.7554....2M.