| NGC 4496 | |
|---|---|
 NGC 4496 imaged by theHubble Space Telescope | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 12h 31m 39.2s[1] |
| Declination | +03° 56′ 22″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.005774[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1,731±16 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 99.7 ± 8.8 Mly (30.58 ± 2.69 Mpc)[1] |
| Group orcluster | Holm 415, VV 76,Virgo Cluster |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.4[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SBc[1] |
| Size | ~49,700 ly (15.24 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.1′ × 0.6′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| HOLM 415,NGC 4505,UGC 07668,MCG +01-32-090,PGC 41471 and 41473,CGCG 042-144,VV 76[1] | |
NGC 4496 is a pair of galaxies in theconstellation ofVirgo. Individually, the larger, northern galaxy is designated NGC 4496A, and the smaller, southern galaxy as NGC 4496B. They were discovered by German-British astronomerWilliam Herschel on 23 February 1784.[2] Herschel described his observation as a double-nucleus galaxy or as two nebulae. Herschel observed them again on 11 March 1784, not realizing he had already seen them. This resulted in twoNew General Catalogue entries for this galaxy group: NGC 4496 and NGC 4505.[2]
The velocity with respect to thecosmic microwave background for NGC 4496A is2,072±24 km/s, which corresponds to aHubble distance of 99.7 ± 7.1 Mly (30.57 ± 2.17 Mpc).[1] However, 47non-redshift measurements give a much closer distance of 49.50 ± 1.01 Mly (15.177 ± 0.309 Mpc).[3]
The velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background for NGC 4496B is4,872±24 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 234.4 ± 16.4 Mly (71.86 ± 5.04 Mpc).[4]
NGC 4496A along with NGC 4496B are listed together asHolm 415 inErik Holmberg'sA Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937.[5] They are also listed as VV 76 in theVorontsov-Vel'yaminov Interacting Galaxies catalogue. This grouping is purely optical, as NGC 4496B is much more distant than NGC 4496A.[4]
Eskridge, Frogel, and Pogge published a paper in 2002 describing the morphology of 205 closely spacedspiral orlenticular galaxies. The observations were made in theH-band of theinfrared and in the B-band (blue). Eskridge and colleagues described NGC 4136 as follows:
Faint nucleus within a thin, very prominent bar. There is a hint of spiral structure to the NW (away from the brighter galaxy [NGC 4496B]), but otherwise the disk is very patchy and irregular. There appear to be many luminous knots/companion galaxies. Most of these are associated with the NW system, but they exist throughout the region.[6]
Twosupernovae have been observed in NGC 4496:
Media related toNGC 4496 at Wikimedia Commons
