astronomy

NGC 4712

NGC 4712 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 4712 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 4712 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 4,664 ± 20 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 68.8 ± 4.8 Mpc (~224 million ly).

Key takeaways

NGC 4712 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 4712 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 4712 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 4712 is a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 4,664 ± 20 km/s, which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 68.8 ± 4.8 Mpc (~224 million ly). NGC 4712 was discovered by German-British astronomer John Herschel in 1832. The luminosity class of NGC 4712 is II-III and it has a broad HI line. It also contains regions of ionized hydrogen. To date, around ten measurements not based on redshift give a distance of 63.640 ± 16.932 Mpc (~208 million ly), which is within the distance values of Hubble. Note, however, that it is with the average value of independent measurements, when they exist, that the NASA/IPAC database calculates the diameter of a galaxy and that consequently the diameter of NGC 4712 could be approximately 51 .4 kpc (~168,000 ly) if we used the Hubble distance to calculate it. According to Vaucouleur and Harold Corwin, NGC 4712 and NGC 4725 form a pair of galaxies. However, like several others mentioned in this article, these two galaxies are not an actual pair, because NGC 4725's radial velocity is 1,209 ± 1 km/s and is therefore much closer to the Milky Way. It is therefore an optical pair.

See also List of spiral galaxies List of NGC objects (4001–5000)

External links NGC 4712 at NASA/IPAC NGC 4712 at SIMBAD NGC 4712 at LEDA

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 4712

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 4712 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 4712 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 4712 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 4712

In research: NGC 4712 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 4712 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 4712 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Coma Berenices, NGC objects, Spiral galaxies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 4712 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 4712 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 4712 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 4712 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 4712 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 4712 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 4712?

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 4712.