astronomy

NGC 4790

NGC 4790 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 4790 rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 4790 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Virgo. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 1,679 ± 24 km/s (1,043 ± 15 mi/s), which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 80.8 ± 5.8 Mly (24.76 ± 1.77 Mpc) away from the Solar System.

Key takeaways

NGC 4790 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 4790 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of NGC 4790 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 4790 is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Virgo. Its velocity with respect to the cosmic microwave background is 1,679 ± 24 km/s (1,043 ± 15 mi/s), which corresponds to a Hubble distance of 80.8 ± 5.8 Mly (24.76 ± 1.77 Mpc) away from the Solar System. In addition, six non-redshift measurements give a distance of 74.75 ± 4.07 Mly (22.917 ± 1.249 Mpc). NGC 4790 was discovered on 25 March 1786 by German-British astronomer William Herschel. NGC 4790 is a member of the NGC 4699 Group (also known as LGG 307) of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster.

Astronomical transients One astronomical transient event has been observed in NGC 4790: the supernova SN 2012au (Type Ib, mag. 13.8), which was discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey on 14 March 2012. This supernova later produced evidence of a pulsar wind nebula which appears to be expanding outward at approximately 2,300 km/s (1,400 mi/s).

Gallery

See also List of NGC objects (4001–5000)

References

External links Media related to NGC 4790 at Wikimedia Commons NGC 4790 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images SIMBAD entry NASA Extragalactic Database entry Messier45 entry Archived 2018-09-23 at the Wayback Machine VizieR

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with NGC 4790

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what NGC 4790 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 4790 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 4790 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 4790

In research: NGC 4790 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 4790 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 4790 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1786, Barred spiral galaxies, Barred spiral galaxy stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for NGC 4790 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 4790 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what NGC 4790 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 4790 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is NGC 4790 in simple terms?

Why does NGC 4790 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 4790?

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 4790.