light-years from Earth.[3] The galaxy has a nucleus with a bar structure that is surrounded by a distinct ring of dust that contains recently formed, hot blue stars. The outer part consists of unusually smooth, poorly distinguished spiral arms.[4]
In 1976, the Canadian astronomer
Sidney Van den Bergh categorized this galaxy as "anemic" because of the low rate at which stars are being formed. He noted that it has "an unusually low surface brightness and exhibits remarkably diffuse spiral arms". Nonetheless, it is the brightest spiral galaxy in the Coma Cluster.[5]
This galaxy is located near the center of the cluster and has a high relative velocity (7,560 km/s)
intergalactic medium, which is stripping off the gas via ram pressure.[7] Some filaments of gas that have been stripped away are falling back to the galaxy, making NGC 4921 possibly the first observational evidence of this fallback.[8]
Media related to NGC 4921 at Wikimedia Commons
