| NGC 4660 | |
|---|---|
 HST image of NGC 4660. | |
| Observation data (J2000epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 12h 44m 32.0s[1] |
| Declination | 11° 11′ 26″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.003612[1] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1083 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 63 Mly (19.2 Mpc)[1] |
| Group orcluster | Virgo Cluster |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.16[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | E5[1] |
| Size | ~39,500 ly (12.10 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 2.2 x 1.6[1] |
| Other designations | |
| CGCG 71-23, MCG 2-33-6, PGC 42917, UGC 7914, VCC 2000[1] | |
NGC 4660 is anelliptical galaxy located about 63 millionlight-years away[2] in the constellationVirgo.[3] The galaxy was discovered by astronomerWilliam Herschel on March 15, 1784[4] and is a member of theVirgo Cluster.[5][6]
NGC 4660 forms a tight pair withMessier 59.[7]
A long tidal filament was detected associated with NGC 4660. This appears to indicate a past gravitational interaction with another galaxy. The progenitor galaxy that may have produced the filament associated with NGC 4660 was a gas-rich spiral. Alternatively, the detection of tidal dwarf galaxies[6] (TDGs) which are “recycled” low-mass galaxies formed frominteractions ormergers[8] suggest that the filament originated from a possiblesatellite galaxy that got stripped during its closest approach in its orbit to NGC 4660. This would make the filament a tidal stream comparable to the stream associated with theSagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy of theMilky Way.[6]
NGC 4660 may have asupermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 800 million suns (8×108M☉).[9]
