| NGC 4476 | |
|---|---|
 SDSS image of NGC 4476 | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 12h 29m 59.1s[1] |
| Declination | 12° 20′ 55″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.006565/1968 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 55.4Mly[2] |
| Group orcluster | Virgo Cluster |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 13.0[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SA0^-(r)[1] |
| Size | ~31,000 ly (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.67 x 1.14[1] |
| Other designations | |
| CGCG 70-128, IRAS 12274+1237, MCG 2-32-96, PGC 41255, UGC 7637, VCC 1250[1] | |
NGC 4476 is alenticular galaxy located about 55 millionlight-years away[3] in theconstellationVirgo.[4] NGC 4476 was discovered by astronomerWilliam Herschel on April 12, 1784.[5] The galaxy is a member of theVirgo Cluster.[6][7]
NGC 4476 has a highly inclined disk of dust that surrounds its nucleus.[8]
NGC 4476 is extremely deficient in neutral atomichydrogen (HI). This may have been caused by a tidal interaction with another galaxy or byram-pressure stripping caused by theintracluster medium of theVirgo Cluster. Because NGC 4476 appears to lie close toMessier 87, there are many galaxies in its vicinity that may have interacted with it. However, optical images of the galaxy show no evidence of an interaction so this is unlikely to account for the deficiency in neutral atomic hydrogen.
It is more likely that the deficiency in neutral atomic hydrogen in NGC 4476 is due toram-pressure stripping caused by theintracluster medium as it traveled on a highly radial orbit through the center of the Virgo Cluster. However, at the galaxy's projected distance from Messier 87, the observed ram-pressure stripping exerted on NGC 4476 is not sufficient to cause sufficient effects on the galaxy'sinterstellar medium. Surprisingly, there is an absence of H I in the inner regions of the galaxy. This may possibly suggest that the physical conditions of the ISM of NGC 4476 are very different from those of typical Virgo Cluster spirals.[6]
