| NGC 5172 | |
|---|---|
NGC 5172 imaged by SDSS | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Coma Berenices |
| Right ascension | 12h 29m 19.3104s |
| Declination | +17° 03′ 06.901″ |
| Redshift | 0.013443±0.00000300 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 4,030±1 km/s |
| Distance | 164.63 ± 11.65 Mly (50.477 ± 3.572 Mpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.63 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(rs)bc |
| Size | ~167,600 ly (51.39 kpc) (estimated) |
| Apparent size (V) | 3.3′ × 1.7′ |
| Other designations | |
| IRAS 13268+1718, 2MASX J13291914+1703061, UGC 8477, MCG +03-34-041, PGC 47330, CGCG 101-057 | |
NGC 5172 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation of Coma Berenices. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 4,308±19 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 207.2 ± 14.5 Mly (63.53 ± 4.46 Mpc). However, 13 non-redshift measurements give a closer mean distance of 164.63 ± 11.65 Mly (50.477 ± 3.572 Mpc). It was discovered by British astronomer John Herschel on 7 May 1826.
NGC 5172 has a possible active galactic nucleus, i.e. it has a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars.
According to Abraham Mahtessian, NGC 5172 and NGC 5190 form a pair of galaxies.
Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 5172: