NGC 4293

NGC 4293
Partial image of NGC 4293 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
ConstellationComa Berenices
Right ascension12h 21m 12.891s
Declination+18° 22′ 56.64″
Redshift0.002977
Heliocentric radial velocity893
Distance54 Mly (16.5 Mpc)
Group or clusterVirgo Cluster
Apparent magnitude (V)10.4
Characteristics
Type(R)SB(s)0/a
Apparent size (V)5.293′ × 1.800′
Other designations
2MASX J12211289+1822566, IRAS 12186+1839, LEDA 39907, UGC 7405, UZC J122112.6+182256, Z 99-23, VCC 460.

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.

The morphological classification of NGC 4293 is (R)SB(s)0/a, with the SB0/a indicating this has just distinguishable tightly wound spiral arms with a bar structure at the nucleus. An '(s)' notation means that this galaxy does not have a ring-like structure around the nucleus. Star formation within NGC 4293 is only taking place within a confined region at the center of the galaxy. The outer stellar disk of the galaxy appears disturbed, suggesting some form of gravitational interaction.

This is a common type of active galaxy known as a LINER, which means that the optical spectrum is dominated by emission lines from gases in low energy ionization states. The activity may be the result of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) in the nucleus that is undergoing a low rate of matter accretion. The estimated mass of such an SMBH is 5.9×107 M☉. Radio emission from thermal activity has been detected from the proximity of this object.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Skrutskie, Michael F.; et al. (1 February 2006), "The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS)", The Astronomical Journal, 131 (2): 1163–1183, Bibcode:2006AJ....131.1163S, doi:10.1086/498708, ISSN 0004-6256, S2CID 18913331.
  2. ↑ Kochanek, C. S.; et al. (October 2001), "The K-Band Galaxy Luminosity Function", The Astrophysical Journal, 560 (2): 566–579, arXiv:astro-ph/0011456, Bibcode:2001ApJ...560..566K, doi:10.1086/322488, S2CID 119420446.
  3. ↑ Crook, Aidan C.; et al. (February 2007), "Groups of Galaxies in the Two Micron All Sky Redshift Survey", The Astrophysical Journal, 655 (2): 790–813, arXiv:astro-ph/0610732, Bibcode:2007ApJ...655..790C, doi:10.1086/510201, S2CID 11672751.
  4. 1 2 Cappellari, Michele; et al. (May 2011), "The ATLAS3D project - I. A volume-limited sample of 260 nearby early-type galaxies: science goals and selection criteria", Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 413 (2): 813–836, arXiv:1012.1551, Bibcode:2011MNRAS.413..813C, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2010.18174.x, S2CID 15391206. {{citation}}: |last13= has generic name (help)
  5. 1 2 3 O'Meara, Stephen James (2011), Deep-Sky Companions: The Secret Deep, vol. 4, Cambridge University Press, pp. 230–231, ISBN 978-1-139-50007-4.
  6. 1 2 de Vaucouleurs, G.; et al. (1991), "Third reference catalogue of bright galaxies, version 9", The Astronomical Journal, 108: 2128, Bibcode:1994AJ....108.2128C, doi:10.1086/117225, retrieved 2015-11-25.
  7. ↑ "NGC 4293". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
  8. ↑ Keel, William C. (January 2015), Galaxy Classification, University of Alabama, retrieved 2015-11-25.
  9. ↑ Falcón-Barroso, J.; et al. (December 2009), "Galaxy Evolution: Emerging Insights and Future Challenges ASP Conference Series", in Jogee, S.; Marinova, I.; Hao, L.; et al. (eds.), Galactic Bulges: the SAURON Perspective, vol. 419, Society of the Pacific, 2009, p. 131, Bibcode:2009ASPC..419..131F.
  10. ↑ Cortés, J. R.; et al. (June 2006), "XI IAU Regional Latin American Meeting of Astronomy", in Infante, L.; Rubio, M. (eds.), Stellar and Ionized Gas Kinematics of Peculiar Virgo Cluster Galaxies, vol. 26, Revista Mexicana de Astronomía y Astrofísica, p. 189, arXiv:astro-ph/0602627, Bibcode:2006RMxAC..26Q.189C.
  11. ↑ Chiaberge, Marco; et al. (June 2005), "The Hubble Space Telescope View of LINER Nuclei: Evidence for a Dual Population?", The Astrophysical Journal, 625 (2): 716–726, arXiv:astro-ph/0501461, Bibcode:2005ApJ...625..716C, doi:10.1086/429612, S2CID 6676560.
  12. ↑ Filho, M. E.; Barthel, P. D.; Ho, L. C. (May 2006), "A radio census of nuclear activity in nearby galaxies", Astronomy and Astrophysics, 451 (1): 71–83, arXiv:astro-ph/0601080, Bibcode:2006A&A...451...71F, doi:10.1051/0004-6361:20054510, S2CID 16640767.