astronomy

NGC 4302

NGC 4302 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 4302 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 4302 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.

Key takeaways

NGC 4302 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 4302 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 4302 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 4302 is an edge-on spiral galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784 and is a member of the Virgo Cluster. It is classified as a Seyfert galaxy and as a LINER galaxy. It also has a prominent, extended dust lane.

Physical characteristics The disk of NGC 4302 contains extraplanar dust that is organized into filamentary structures and large dust complexes. The apparent bending of many of the large complexes toward the north of the galaxy appears to be due to an interaction with the intracluster medium caused by the motion of NGC 4302 as it falls into the Virgo Cluster. The dense, dusty matter in the disk of NGC 4302 appears to be largely tracing matter ejected from the disk by energetic feedback from massive stars.

Extraplanar Diffuse Ionized Gas First detected by Pildis et al., NGC 4302 has a faint but prominent layer of extraplanar diffuse ionized gas (DIG) that extends out to a galactocentric radius of ~13,000 ly (4 kpc) and a height of ~6,500 ly (2 kpc) above the plane of the galaxy. The DIG appears to have been ionized by photoionization by OB stars.

Box/Peanut Bulge The presence of a boxy/peanut bulge in NGC 4302 suggests that the galaxy contains a thickened bar that is viewed edge-on.

HI Disk The HI disk of NGC 4302 is truncated to within the optical disk to the south of the galaxy. This truncation appears to be the result of ram pressure.

Tidal Bridge Kantharia et al. and Zschaechner et al. both independently detected a tidal bridge between NGC 4302 and NGC 4298. The bridge is the result of a tidal interaction between the two galaxies.

HI tail First identified by Chung et al., NGC 4302 has a ~52,000 ly (16 kpc) tail of neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) that extends to the north of the galaxy. The tail appears to be a result of ram pressure or by a tidal interaction with NGC 4298. However, NGC 4302 appears relatively undisturbed favoring the cause of the tail to be due to ram pressure. The HI tail is pointed away from M87 which suggests that NGC 4302 is falling into the center of the Virgo Cluster on a highly radial orbit.

SN 1986E NGC 4302 has hosted one supernova, a Type IIL supernova designated as SN 1986E. The supernova was discovered by G. Candeo at the Asiago Observatory on April 13, 1986, with an apparent magnitude of 14.5.

See also List of NGC objects (4001–5000)

References

External links Media related to NGC 4302 at Wikimedia Commons NGC 4302 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 4302

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 4302 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 4302 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 4302 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 4302

In research: NGC 4302 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 4302 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 4302 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1784, Coma Berenices, Discoveries by William Herschel, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 4302 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 4302 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 4302 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 4302 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 4302 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 4302 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 4302?

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 4302.