NGC 4478
Galaxy in the constellation of Virgo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NGC 4478 is an elliptical galaxy located about 50 million light-years away[3] in the constellation Virgo.[4] NGC 4478 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784.[5] NGC 4478 is a member of the Virgo Cluster.[6]
| NGC 4478 | |
|---|---|
SDSS image of NGC 4478. | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 12h 30m 17.4s[1] |
| Declination | 12° 19′ 43″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.004500/1349 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 52.2 Mly[2] |
| Group or cluster | Virgo Cluster |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.36[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | E2[1] |
| Size | ~30,000 ly (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.9 x 1.6[1] |
| Other designations | |
| CGCG 70-133, MCG 2-32-99, PGC 41297, UGC 7645, VCC 1279[1] | |
Nuclear disk
Hubble images indicate that NGC 4478 has a central nuclear disk.[7]
Metallicity
Globular clusters
NGC 4478 has a typical sub-population of metal-poor globular clusters. However, it has a lack of metal-rich clusters. The lack of metal-rich clusters in other galaxies is usually attributed to accretion, or mergers with other galaxies. The only other known elliptical that has been shown to have a domination of metal-poor globular clusters is the giant galaxy NGC 4874 which is located in the center of the Coma Cluster.[2]
Reduced population
Due to tidal truncation caused by Messier 87, a significant amount of globular clusters have been striped away from NGC 4478 and have become members of Messier 87's globular cluster system.[8]
Interaction with Messier 87
NGC 4478 is likely to be a companion of the giant elliptical Messier 87. The two galaxies are separated from each other by about 130,400 Light-years (40 kpc). NGC 4478 has been tidally truncated by Messier 87.[2]
