astronomy

NGC 4526

NGC 4526 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 4526 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 4526 (also listed as NGC 4560) is a lenticular galaxy with an embedded dusty disc, located approximately 55 million light-years from the Solar System in the Virgo constellation and discovered on 13 April 1784 by William Herschel. Herschel observed it again on 28 December 1785, resulting in the galaxy being entered twice into the New General Catalogue.

Key takeaways

NGC 4526 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 4526 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 4526 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 4526 (also listed as NGC 4560) is a lenticular galaxy with an embedded dusty disc, located approximately 55 million light-years from the Solar System in the Virgo constellation and discovered on 13 April 1784 by William Herschel. Herschel observed it again on 28 December 1785, resulting in the galaxy being entered twice into the New General Catalogue.

The galaxy is seen nearly edge-on. The morphological classification is SAB(s)0°, 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 4.5+4.2−3.0×108 (450 million) 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 (in this case the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy).

Supernovae Two supernovae have been observed in NGC 4526:

SN 1969E (type unknown, mag. 16) was discovered by Enrique Chavira on 23 March 1969. SN 1994D (Type Ia, mag. 15.2) was discovered independently by the Leuschner Observatory Supernova Search and by Dr. M. Richmond, on 7 March 1994, about two weeks before reaching peak brightness. It was caused by the explosion of a white dwarf star composed of carbon and oxygen.

See also Black Eye Galaxy List of NGC objects (1–1000)

References

External links

NGC 4526 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images Lost Galaxy (NGC4526) in Virgo SEDS

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 4526

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 4526 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 4526 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 4526 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 4526

In research: NGC 4526 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 4526 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 4526 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 4526 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.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study NGC 4526 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 4526 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 4526 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 4526 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 4526 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 4526?

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 4526.