astronomy

NGC 4496

NGC 4496 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 4496 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 4496 is a pair of galaxies in the constellation of Virgo. Individually, the larger, northern galaxy is designated NGC 4496A, and the smaller, southern galaxy as NGC 4496B.

Key takeaways

NGC 4496 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 4496 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 4496 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 4496 is a pair of galaxies in the constellation of Virgo. Individually, the larger, northern galaxy is designated NGC 4496A, and the smaller, southern galaxy as NGC 4496B. They were discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 23 February 1784. Herschel described his observation as a double-nucleus galaxy or as two nebulae. Herschel observed them again on 11 March 1784, not realizing he had already seen them. This resulted in two New General Catalogue entries for this galaxy group: NGC 4496 and NGC 4505. The velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background for NGC 4496A is 2,072±24 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 99.7 ± 7.1 Mly (30.57 ± 2.17 Mpc). However, 47 non-redshift measurements give a much closer distance of 49.50 ± 1.01 Mly (15.177 ± 0.309 Mpc).

The velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background for NGC 4496B is 4,872±24 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 234.4 ± 16.4 Mly (71.86 ± 5.04 Mpc). NGC 4496A along with NGC 4496B are listed together as Holm 415 in Erik Holmberg's A Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937. They are also listed as VV 76 in the Vorontsov-Vel'yaminov Interacting Galaxies catalogue. This grouping is purely optical, as NGC 4496B is much more distant than NGC 4496A.

Morphology Eskridge, Frogel, and Pogge published a paper in 2002 describing the morphology of 205 closely spaced spiral or lenticular galaxies. The observations were made in the H-band of the infrared and in the B-band (blue). Eskridge and colleagues described NGC 4136 as follows:

Faint nucleus within a thin, very prominent bar. There is a hint of spiral structure to the NW (away from the brighter galaxy [NGC 4496B]), but otherwise the disk is very patchy and irregular. There appear to be many luminous knots/companion galaxies. Most of these are associated with the NW system, but they exist throughout the region.

Supernovae Three supernovae have been observed in NGC 4496:

SN 1960F (Type Ia, mag. 11.6) was discovered by Milton Hummason on 17 April 1960. SN 1988M (Type II) was discovered by Alex Filippenko and Wallace L. W. Sargent on 7 April 1988. SN 2025nqb (Type Ib, mag. 18.868) was discovered by Supernovae and Gravitational Lenses Follow up (SGLF) on 16 June 2025. It was initially classified as Type Ic, but later analysis concluded it to be Type Ib.

See also List of NGC objects (4001–5000)

References

External links Media related to NGC 4496 at Wikimedia Commons NGC 4496 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 4496

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 4496 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 4496 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 4496 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 4496

In research: NGC 4496 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 4496 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 4496 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1784, Discoveries by William Herschel, IRAS catalogue objects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 4496 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 4496 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 4496 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 4496 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 4496 in simple terms?

NGC 4496 is a pair of galaxies in the constellation of Virgo. Individually, the larger, northern galaxy is designated NGC 4496A, and the smaller, southern galaxy as NGC 4496B.

Why does NGC 4496 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 4496?

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 4496.