NGC 4636
| NGC 4636 | |
|---|---|
Elliptical galaxy NGC 4636 imaged by SDSS | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 12h 42m 49.8264s |
| Declination | +02° 41′ 16.08″ |
| Redshift | 0.003129 ± 0.000014 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 938 ± 4 km/s |
| Distance | 53 ± 11 Mly (16.3 ± 3.4 Mpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 9.4 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | E/S0_1 |
| Apparent size (V) | 6.0′ × 4.7′ |
| Notable features | Strong X-ray source |
| Other designations | |
| UGC 7878, VCC 1939, CGCG 043–002, MCG +01-32-137, PGC 42734 | |
NGC 4636 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is a member of the NGC 4753 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. It is located at a distance of about 55 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 4636 is about 105,000 light years across.
It was discovered by William Herschel on February 23, 1784. NGC 4636 lies one and a half degrees southwest of Delta Virginis. It can be viewed through a telescope at a ×23 magnification as a bright oval glow. It is part of the Herschel 400 Catalogue.