NGC 4312 is an edge-on unbarred spiral galaxy[3] located about 55 million light-years away[2] in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on January 14, 1787.[4] NGC 4312 is a member of the Virgo Cluster[5][6][7] and is a LINER galaxy.[8]
| NGC 4312 | |
|---|---|
SDSS image of NGC 4312. | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Coma Berenices |
| Right ascension | 12h 22m 31.3s[1] |
| Declination | 15° 32′ 17″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.000510[1] |
| Helio radial velocity | 153 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 55 Mly (17 Mpc)[2] |
| Group or cluster | Virgo Cluster |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.53[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SA(rs)ab[1] |
| Size | ~59,000 ly (18 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 4.6 x 1.1[1] |
| Other designations | |
| UGC 07442, VCC 0559, PGC 040095, MCG +03-32-014[1] | |
It has undergone ram-pressure stripping in the past.[9]
NGC 4312 may harbor an intermediate-mass black hole with an estimated mass ranging from 10,000 (1*10^4) to 300,000 (3*10^5) solar masses.[10]
New General Catalogue 4000 to 4499 | |
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