astronomy

NGC 4111

NGC 4111 is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand NGC 4111 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 4111 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is located at a distance of circa 50 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 4111 is about 55,000 light-years across.

Key takeaways

NGC 4111 belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect NGC 4111 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 4111 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 4111 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Canes Venatici. It is located at a distance of circa 50 million light-years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 4111 is about 55,000 light-years across. It was discovered by William Herschel in 1788. NGC 4111 possesses both thin and thick discs.

Characteristics The galaxy is characterised by a series of dusty filaments running through its centre. They are associated with a ring of material encircling the galaxy's core, which is not aligned with the galaxy's main disc, suggesting that this polar ring of gas and dust is actually the remains of a smaller galaxy. The polar ring has a diameter of 450 pc and in it is embedded one with a diameter of 220 pc visible in H21-0 imaging. The estimated cold molecular gas mass within the polar ring is estimated to be 108 M☉. The ring can provide enough material for an active galactic nucleus and for circumnuclear star formation. The galaxy also possesses an X-shaped, (peanut shell)-shaped bulge, thought to arise from an unstable stellar bar. The stellar population within the disk is quite young (2 ±0.3 billion years mean age) and its metallicity is subsolar. The nucleus of the galaxy features a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER), which is emitting X-rays. The nucleus is the only source that was identified in observations by Chandra X-ray Observatory and there was also diffuse emission. The central sources accounts for approximately 77% of the hard X-rays emission of the galaxy. Its central source has also been detected in radiowaves and is believed to be a low luminosity active galactic nucleus.

Nearby galaxies NGC 4111 is the foremost galaxy in NGC 4111 galaxy group, one of the subgroups of Ursa Major Cluster. The NGC 4111 Group is the second most massive subgroup, after the M109 Group. According with Makarov and Karachentsev, members of the NGC 4111 Group are the galaxies UGC 6818, NGC 3938, NGC 4013, IC 749, IC 750, NGC 4051, UGC 7089, UGC 7094, NGC 4117, NGC 4138 and NGC 4183. NGC 4111 appears disturbed in HI imaging, with HI extending 28 arcminutes south of the central position of NGC 4111, which corresponds in 120 kpc if the distance is 15 Mpc, and connects NGC 4111 with the nearby galaxies NGC 4117 and NGC 4118, which lie 7 arcminutes to east-northeast.

References

External links

NGC 4111 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 4111

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 4111 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to NGC 4111 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about NGC 4111 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of NGC 4111

In research: NGC 4111 appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses NGC 4111 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: NGC 4111 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Canes Venatici, Discoveries by William Herschel, Lenticular galaxies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 4111 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study NGC 4111 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 4111 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain NGC 4111 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 4111 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 4111 matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study NGC 4111?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on NGC 4111.