H-NGC4438 — The Eyes
Galaxy in Virgo
About
A distorted galaxy in Virgo, about 52 million light-years away, that pairs with NGC 4435 as the Eyes (Arp 120) in Markarian's Chain. Its gas and dust are shifted toward its neighbour, and it holds unusually little neutral hydrogen. It is in the Herschel 400.
Imaging tips
- At 2690–4490 mm on APS-C it fills a third to half of the frame, with NGC 4435 about 4.6′ away in the same field.
- One imager collected 9.4 hours with a 152 mm refractor: 81 × 300 s luminance and 10–11 × 300 s per colour filter, over 12–16 May.
- The disk is highly distorted and has long tidal tails, so deep data may show more than the bright core.
- Filaments of ionised gas link it to the giant elliptical M86, which lies in the same part of the Virgo Cluster.
- Best around March and April; it stays below 53° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 9′ × 4′
- Magnitude
- 10.2
- Coordinates
- RA 12h 27.8m, Dec +13° 1′
- Framing, APS-C
- 2690–4490 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Mar, Apr
- Peak altitude
- 53° from 50°N, 68° from 35°N
Nearby
- H-NGC4435 (The Eyes) · 4.6′ away