| NGC 4123 | |
|---|---|
NGC 4123 with Legacy Surveys DR10
| |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Right ascension | 12h08m 11.119s[1] |
| Declination | +02° 52′ 41.78″[1] |
| Redshift | 0.00429±0.00002[2] |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1,326[3] km/s |
| Distance | 75 ± 14 Mly (22.9 ± 4.2 Mpc)[4] |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.4[5] |
| Apparent magnitude (B) | 13.10[3] |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SBx(rs)ab[6] |
| Mass/Light ratio | 2.25[7] M☉/L☉ |
| Apparent size (V) | 1.900′ × 0.646′[8] (NIR) |
| Other designations | |
| NGC 4123, UGC 7116, PGC 38531, LEDA 38531, Mrk 1466[9] | |
NGC 4123 is a modest-sized,[10] strongly-barred spiral galaxy[7] located 75 million light-years[4] away in the equatorial constellationofVirgo. It was discovered February 25, 1784 by William Herschel.[5] This is a member of the Virgo cluster, and it belongs to a group of three galaxies.[11] A companion galaxy, NGC 4116, lies at an angular separationof14′ to the southwest. There is no indication of an interaction between the two galaxies.[7] The third member of the group is NGC 4179.[11]
The morphological classification of NGC 4123 is SBx(rs)ab, which indicates this is a spiral galaxy with a central X-shaped bar (SBx) encircled by an incomplete ring structure (rs) and moderate to tightly wound spiral arms (ab). The plane of the galaxy is inclined at an angle of 46.9° to the line of sight from the Earth. It lacks a large spheroidal bulge at the core, showing only a luminous point-like source.[10] Blue knots in the outer spiral arms indicate that star formation is ongoing.[7] The galaxy has a stellar mass of 1.95×1010 M☉[6] with a star formation rate of 3.429±3.281 M☉·yr−1.[12] The atomic gas in the galaxy has a mass of 1.06×1010 M☉.[10]
Radio emission has been detected from an HII nucleus, which is consistent with it having a weak active galactic nucleus.[13] If there is a supermassive black hole at the core, it has an estimated mass of 107 M☉.[14]
