NGC 4473

NGC 4473 is an elliptical galaxy^[2] located about 50 million light-years away^[3] in the constellation of Coma Berenices.^[4] It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784.^[5] NGC 4473 has an inclination of about 71°.^[6] NGC 4473 is a member of a chain of galaxies called Markarian's Chain which is part of the larger Virgo Cluster of galaxies.^[7][8]

NGC 4473
SDSS image of the elliptical galaxy NGC 4473.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Coma Berenices
Right ascension	12h 29m 48.9s[1]
Declination	13° 25′ 46″[1]
Redshift	0.007485[1]
Heliocentric radial velocity	2244 km/s[1]
Distance	52.74 Mly
Group or cluster	Virgo Cluster
Apparent magnitude (V)	11.16[1]
Characteristics
Type	E5[1]
Size	~ 68.5 kly (estimated); 21 kpc[1]
Apparent size (V)	4.5' × 2.5'[1]
Other designations
CGCG 70-125, MCG 2-32-93, PGC 41228, UGC 7631, VCC 1231[1]

Components

NGC 4473 has an estimated population of 376 ± 97 globular clusters.^[9] These clusters may have formed from the result of multiple minor mergers that helped form the outer regions of the galaxy.^[3] Beside this, NGC 4473 has two counter-rotating stellar discs embedded in the inner regions of the galaxy. They may have formed by either the accretion of gas from outside the galaxy or the mergers of gas-rich galaxies.^[3]

Supermassive black hole

Using the HST and spectroscopic data from the ground to measure the motions of stars in the center of NGC 4473, Douglas Richstone and colleagues at the University of Michigan have concluded that the galaxy has a supermassive black hole^[10] with an estimated mass of roughly 100 million solar masses (1×10⁸ M_☉).^[11][12] Its diameter is estimated to be around 4.459 AU (669 million km).^[13]

See also

• List of NGC objects (4001–5000)
• Messier 87
• M86
• NGC 4550 - Lenticular galaxy in the Virgo Cluster experiencing counter-rotation

Gallery

• 
  NGC 4473 (SDSS)
• 
  NGC 4473 in Virgo Cluster
• 
  HST image of NGC 4473