NGC 4570 is an edge-on
lenticular galaxy located about 57 million
light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
s away in the constellation
Virgo. NGC 4570 was discovered by astronomer
William Herschel on April 13, 1784 and is a member of the
Virgo Cluster.
Structure
NGC 4570 has a nuclear disc that extends to a radius of about ~. In between
the nuclear disk and the surrounding two stellar rings and the outer disk,
there is a gap that separates the outer edge of the nuclear disk and the inner edge of the main disk by about ~.
This multi-disc structure may have been shaped through secular evolution induced by a small nuclear bar.
However, observations of the
globular clusters
A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member ...
surrounding NGC 4570 have found a significant population with ages ranging from about 1–3
billion years. Surprisingly, the estimated ages of the young
globular clusters
A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member ...
appears to be in good agreement with the estimated age of the stellar population of the nuclear disc (≤2 Gyr). This suggests that the young
globular clusters
A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member ...
and the nuclear disc instead formed from a
merger
Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
or
accretion
Accretion may refer to:
Science
* Accretion (astrophysics), the formation of planets and other bodies by collection of material through gravity
* Accretion (meteorology), the process by which water vapor in clouds forms water droplets around nucl ...
event which involved significant amounts of gas and triggered a strong
starburst
MicroPro International Corporation was an American software company founded in 1978 in San Rafael, California. They are best known as the publisher of WordStar, a popular early word processor for personal computers.
History Founding and early su ...
in the galaxy.
Globular Clusters
About 120
globular clusters
A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of member ...
have been detected surrounding NGC 4570.
See also
*
List of NGC objects (4001–5000)
This is a list of NGC objects 4001–5000 from the New General Catalogue (NGC). The astronomical catalogue is composed mainly of star clusters, nebulae, and galaxies. Other objects in the catalogue can be found in the other subpages of the list of ...
*
NGC 5866
NGC 5866 (also called the Spindle Galaxy or Messier 102) is a relatively bright lenticular galaxy in the constellation Draco. NGC 5866 was most likely discovered by Pierre Méchain or Charles Messier in 1781, and independently found by William H ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:NGC 4570
Virgo (constellation)
Lenticular galaxies
4570
42096
7785
Astronomical objects discovered in 1784
Virgo Cluster
Discoveries by William Herschel