NGC 4216

NGC 4216

An ultraviolet image of NGC 4216 taken with GALEX.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Virgo
Right ascension 12h 15m 54.4s[1]
Declination +13° 08 58[1]
Redshift 131 ± 4 km/s[1]
Distance 40 Mly
Type SAB(s)b[1]
Apparent dimensions (V) 8.1 × 1.8[1]
Apparent magnitude (V) 11.0[1]
Other designations
UGC 7284,[1] PGC 39246[1]

NGC 4216 is a metal-rich intermediate spiral galaxy located not far from the center of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, roughly 40 million light-years away. It is seen nearly edge-on.

Physical characteristics

It is one of the largest and brightest spiral galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, with an absolute magnitude that has been estimated to be -22 (i.e.: brighter than the Andromeda Galaxy),[2] and like most spiral galaxies of this cluster shows a deficiency of neutral hydrogen that's concentrated within the galaxy's optical disk and has a low surface density for a galaxy of its type.,[3] something that explains why is considered an anemic galaxy by some authors, also with a low star formation activity for a galaxy of its type.[4] In fact, its disk shows pillar-like structures that may have been caused by interactions with the intracluster medium of Virgo and/or with nearby galaxies[5]

In NGC 4216's halo, besides a rich system of globular clusters with a number of them estimated in around 700 (nearly five times more than the Milky Way),[2]two stellar streams that are interpreted as two satellite galaxies being disrupted and absorbed by this galaxy are present.[5]

NGC 4216 seems to be in a place of the Virgo cluster where dwarf galaxies are being destroyed/accreted at a high rate, with it suffering a largue number of interactions with these type of galaxies[6]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database". Results for NGC 4216. Retrieved 2006-11-25.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Globular Cluster Systems in Galaxies Beyond the Local Grup.". NASA-IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  3. Chung, A.; Van Gorkom, J.H.; Kenney, J.F.P.; Crowl, Hugh; Vollmer, B. (2009). "VLA Imaging of Virgo Spirals in Atomic Gas (VIVA). I. The Atlas and the H I Properties". the Astronomical Journal 138 (6): 1741–1816. Bibcode:2009AJ....138.1741C. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/138/6/1741.
  4. Vollmer, B.; Soida, M.; Beck, R.; Chung, A.; Urbanik, M.; Chyży, K. T.; Otmianowska-Mazur, K.; Kenney, J. D. P. (2013). "Large-scale radio continuum properties of 19 Virgo cluster galaxies. The influence of tidal interactions, ram pressure stripping, and accreting gas envelopes". Astronomy & Astrophysics 553: 1741–1816. arXiv:1304.1279. Bibcode:2013A&A...553A.116V. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201321163. A116.
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Stellar Tidal Streams in Spiral Galaxies of the Local Volume". Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  6. Paudel, Sanjaya; Duc, Pierre-Alain; Côté, Patrick; Cuillandre, Jean-Charles et al. (2013). "The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey. IV. NGC 4216: A Bombarded Spiral in the Virgo Cluster". Astrophysical Journal 767 (2). arXiv:1302.6611. Bibcode:2013ApJ...767..133P. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/767/2/133. 133.