In the following article we will delve into the fascinating world of NGC 4654, exploring its various facets and discovering the importance it has in our current society. NGC 4654 has been an object of interest and study for a long time, and its influence extends to different areas of daily life. Along these lines, we will analyze in depth its impact on culture, technology, politics and many other relevant aspects. In addition, we will examine its evolution over time and how it has marked trends and significant changes in different fields. Get ready to immerse yourself in an exciting journey through NGC 4654 and discover everything this theme has to offer us.
| NGC 4654 | |
|---|---|
NGC 4654 as imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope. | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 12h 43m 42.6s[1] |
| Declination | +13° 07′ 36″[1] |
| Redshift | 1046 ± 5 km/s[1] |
| Distance | 55.0 Mly |
| Group or cluster | Virgo Cluster |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 12.0[1] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(rs)cd[1] |
| Size | 88,600 ly (27.17 kpc) (estimated)[1] |
| Apparent size (V) | 5.2′ × 1.4′[1] |
| Other designations | |
| UGC 7902,[1] PGC 42857, VCC 1987[1] | |
NGC 4654 is an intermediate spiral galaxy in the constellation of Virgo at a distance of 55 million light years (16.8 megaparsecs) from the Milky Way[2] that can be spotted with amateur telescopes.
NGC 4654 is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies that shows peculiarities in the distribution of both its atomic hydrogen and molecular hydrogen as well as an asymmetry on the distribution of its stars,[3] with the atomic hydrogen being compressed in the galaxy's northwestern part and forming a tail on its southeastern part.[4] While interactions with Virgo's intracluster medium - that is stripping NGC 4654 of its gas as the galaxy moves through it - can explain its gas distribution, it is unable to explain the peculiarities in the distribution of its stars. It has been proposed that NGC 4654 interacted with its neighbor the spiral galaxy NGC 4639 about 500 million years ago; this, combined with weak ram-pressure stripping due to its motion within the Virgo cluster, may explain its features.[3]
Despite suffering a loss of its neutral gas, NGC 4654 does not suffer the deficiency of it that is shown in many spiral galaxies of the Virgo cluster and also has the star formation typical for a galaxy of its type.[2]