NGC 4688
| NGC 4688 | |
|---|---|
NGC 4688 imaged by Legacy Surveys | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 12h 47m 46.5187s |
| Declination | +04° 20′ 08.927″ |
| Redshift | 0.003289±0.00000300 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 986±1 km/s |
| Distance | 24.79 ± 8.02 Mly (7.600 ± 2.458 Mpc) |
| Group or cluster | M49 group (LGG 292) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.62 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SB(s)cd |
| Size | ~31,700 ly (9.73 kpc) (estimated) |
| Apparent size (V) | 3.2′ × 2.8′ |
| Other designations | |
| HOLM 461A, IRAS 12452+0436, 2MASX J12474646+0420098, UGC 7961, MCG +01-33-013, PGC 43189, CGCG 043-028 | |
NGC 4688 is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation of Virgo. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 1,318±23 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 63.4 ± 4.6 Mly (19.44 ± 1.40 Mpc). However, five non-redshift measurements give a much closer mean distance of 24.79 ± 8.02 Mly (7.600 ± 2.458 Mpc). It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 17 April 1786.
NGC 4688 has a possible active galactic nucleus, i.e. it has a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. It is also a LINER galaxy, i.e. a galaxy whose nucleus has an emission spectrum characterized by broad lines of weakly ionized atoms.