NGC 4485 is an

irregular galaxy An irregular galaxy is a galaxy that does not have a distinct regular shape, unlike a spiral or an elliptical galaxy. Irregular galaxies do not fall into any of the regular classes of the Hubble sequence, and they are often chaotic in appearance, ...

located in the northern constellation of

Canes Venatici Canes Venatici () is one of the 88 constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is a small northern constellation that was created by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. Its name is Latin for 'hunting dogs', and ...

. It was discovered January 14, 1788 by

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Caroline ...

. This galaxy is located at a distance of 29 million light years and is receding with a heliocentric radial velocity of 483 km/s. NGC 4485 is

interacting Interaction is action that occurs between two or more objects, with broad use in philosophy and the sciences. It may refer to: Science * Interaction hypothesis, a theory of second language acquisition * Interaction (statistics) * Interactions o ...

with the spiral galaxy

NGC 4490 NGC 4490, also known as the Cocoon Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. William Herschel discovered it in 1788. It is known to be of the closest interacting/merging galactic system. The galaxy lies at a distance o ...

and as a result both galaxies are distorted and are undergoing intense star formation. They have a projected separation of and are surrounded by an extended hydrogen envelope with a dense bridge of gas joining the two. Both galaxies are otherwise isolated and of low mass. The star formation rate in NGC 4485 is ·yr⁻¹.

Gallery

NGC4490.jpg, NGC 4485 and NGC 4490. On the verge NGC 4485.jpg, Interaction between them created a stream of material about 25 000 light-years long.

References

External links

* Irregular galaxies Canes II Group Canes Venatici 4485 07648 41326 {{galaxy-stub