NGC 4526
NGC 4526 is a lenticular galaxy located approximately 55 million light-years from the Solar System in the Virgo constellation and discovered on 13 April 1784 by William Herschel.
The galaxy is seen nearly edge-on. The morphological classification is SAB0°, which indicates a lenticular structure with a weak bar across the center and pure spiral arms without a ring. It belongs to the Virgo cluster and is one of the brightest known lenticular galaxies.
In the galaxy's outer halo,
globular cluster orbital velocities
indicate abnormal poverty of dark matter:
only 43±18% of the mass within 5 effective radii.
The inner nucleus of this galaxy displays a rise in stellar orbital motion that indicates the presence of a central dark mass. The best fit model for the motion of molecular gas in the core region suggests there is a supermassive black hole with about times the mass of the Sun. This is the first object to have its black-hole mass estimated by measuring the rotation of gas molecules around its centre with an Astronomical interferometer.
Supernova SN 1969E was discovered in this galaxy in 1969, reaching a peak magnitude of 16. In 1994, a Type 1a supernova was discovered about two weeks before reaching peak brightness. Designated SN 1994D, it was caused by the explosion of a white dwarf star composed of carbon and oxygen.Gallery
