NGC 4753


NGC 4753 is a lenticular galaxy located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. NGC 4753 was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on February 22, 1784. It is notable for having distinct dust lanes that surround its nucleus. It is a member of the NGC 4753 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

Physical characteristics

The distribution of dust in NGC 4753 lies in an inclined disk wrapped several times around the nucleus. The material in the disk may have been accreted from the merger of a gas rich dwarf galaxy. Over several orbital periods, the accreted material eventually smeared out into a disk. Differential precession that occurred after the accretion event caused the disk to twist. Eventually, the disk settled into a fixed orientation with respect to the galaxy. The age of the disk is estimated to be around half a billion to a billion years.
Another explanation suggests that the dust in NGC 4753 originated from red giant stars in the galaxy.

Dark matter

Analysis of the twisted disk in NGC 4753 by Steiman-Cameron et al. revealed that most of the mass in the galaxy lies in a slightly flattened spherical halo of dark matter.

Globular clusters

NGC 4753 has an estimated population of 1070 ± 120 globular clusters.

Supernovae

Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 4753:
NGC 4753 is a member of its own galaxy group, known as the NGC 4753 Group. The NGC 4753 Group is located near the southern edge of the Virgo Cluster. The group, along with other groups of galaxies form part of a filament that extends off from the southern border of the Virgo Cluster that is called the Virgo II Groups.

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