NGC 4062
NGC 4062 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies about 50 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 4062 is approximately 50,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 20, 1787.
Characteristics
NGC 4062 has a small elliptical bulge. From the minor axis of the bulge emerge two spiral arms, better visible in near-infrared. The arms are high-contrast and in a grand design pattern. The arms are initially smooth and narrow but after half a revolution become diffuse. They can be traced for a full revolution before fading. Dust lanes can be seen across the disk in a spiral pattern. Some HII regions are also visible, but are less than two arcseconds across. The star formation knots appear patchy, in a flocculent pattern.The galaxy is a strong source of H-alpha emission, whose kinematics in the central region indicate high velocity dispersion, maybe due to the presence of a bar. In the centre of the galaxy lies a supermassive black hole whose mass is estimated to be based on the spheroid luminosity.