Galaxies NGC 4526 & NGC 4535 (Lost Galaxy)
NGC 4526
The galaxy NGC 4526 was discovered by William Herschel on 13 April 1784. He listed it as bright nebula I 31 with the description: «Very bright, extended, much brighter in the middle, resolvable, between two bright stars.» The position he gave (8 minutes preceding 13 Vir and 37' north of it) is 17' too much south of NGC 4526 (UGC 7718), but there's nothing on this position. Five nights later on 18 April 1784 he returned back and listed bright nebula I 38 with the description: «Bright, very large, much extended, much brighter in the middle.» The position 11m 36s preceding to 32 Vir at same declination matches NGC 4526 (UGC 7718), hence I 38 is a duplicate of I 31. [463] John Herschel observed the galaxy three times in the nights of 19-24 April 1830 and combined both entries as h 1329 (GC 3075). [467]
William Herschel probably found this galaxy a third time on 28 December 1785 and recorded it as I 119 with another bad position (preceding 6m 0s, 0° 55' north of 31 Vir), but there's nothing there that matches the description: «Very bright, pretty small» [463] John Herschel took it over as h 1353 (GC 3103). [467] Dreyer added it as NGC 4560 with the notes: «Barely perceptile to d'Arrest with the 4.5-inch Leipzig refractor. Not found by Bigourdan. Not observed elsewhere.» [313] Most likely NGC 4560 is a duplicate of NGC 4526.
NGC 4526 is one of the brightest lenticular galaxies known, bridging the gap between spirals and ellipticals. It has hosted two supernovae (in 1969 and 1994) and contains a supermassive black hole with a mass of 450 million Suns. Part of the Virgo Cluster, it features a rapidly spinning disc of gas, dust, and stars extending unusually far, spanning 7% of the galaxy's radius and rotating at over 250 km/s. This disc's dynamics provided a groundbreaking method for measuring the mass of its central black hole. [706]
| Designation | NGC 4526 |
| Type | Gx (SB0) |
| Right Ascension (J2000.0) | 12h 34m 02.8s |
| Declination (J2000.0) | +07° 41' 56" |
| Diameter | 7 × 2.5 arcmin |
| Photographic (blue) magnitude | 10.3 mag |
| Visual magnitude | 9.3 mag |
| Surface brightness | 12.7 mag·arcmin-2 |
| Position Angle | 113° |
| Redshift (z) | 0.001494 |
| Distance derived from z | 6.31 Mpc |
| Metric Distance | 15.200 Mpc |
| Dreyer Description | vB, vL, mE 120° ±, psmbM, bet 2 st 7 m |
| Identification, Remarks | WH I 31, I 38; h 1329; GC 3075; NGC 4560; UGC 7718; MCG 1-32-100; IRAS 12315+0758; VCC 1535; CGCG 42-155 |
NGC 4535 «Lost Galaxy»
The galaxy NGC 4535 was discovered by William Herschel on 28 December 1785 and listed as faint nebula II 500. He described it as follows: «Very large, easily resolvable, some stars visible.» [464]
This galaxy is also known by the nickname «Lost Galaxy», which goes back to the article «Adventuring in the Virgo Cloud» by Leland S. Copeland, appeared in February 1955 issue of Sky & Telescope. There he described a star hop through the Virgo Cluster using his 8" Cave reflector. He states, «North of the Diamond is a very dim spiral, here called the Lost Galaxy, NGC 4535.» Probably he was referring to NGC 4535's difficulty to be seen due to its low surface brightness. [364]
At the heart of NGC 4535 lies a distinct bar structure, with sharply curving dust lanes where the spiral arms branch off from the bar's ends. The spiral arms have a bluish hue, indicating the presence of numerous hot, young stars, while the galaxy's central bulge glows with a yellowish tint due to older, cooler stars. NGC 4535 is among the largest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, a vast collection of nearly 2,000 galaxies located roughly 50 million light-years away. Though the Virgo Cluster is similar in diameter to the Local Group — the galaxy cluster that includes the Milky Way — it boasts nearly 50 times as many galaxies. [703]
| Name | RA | Dec | Type | bMag | vMag | B-V | SB | Dim | PA | z | D(z) | MD | Dreyer Description | Identification, Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 4535 | 12 34 20.2 | +08 11 51 | Gx (SBc) | 10.6 | 10.0 | 0.6 | 13.7 | 7.1 × 5 | 0 | 0.006551 | 27.67 | 16.360 | pF, vL, r | WH II 500; GC 3080; UGC 7727; MCG 1-32-104; CGCG 42-159; VCC 1555; IRAS 12318+0828 |
| NGC 4535 A | 12 34 13.9 | +08 16 25 | Gx (S) | 16.0 | 15.2 | 0.8 | 13.7 | 0.6 × 0.5 | 15 | 0.024514 | 103.5 | pF, vL, r | WH II 500; GC 3080 |
NGC 4518
NGC 4518 was discovered by John Herschel on 27 December 1827. He listed it as h 1322 (GC 3064) and recorded: «Faint, small, round, brighter in the middle, 20"». His position corresponds with CGCG 42-150 = PGC 41674 (double system with a fainter companion CGCG 42-149 = NGC 4518 B close south). [466]
| Name | RA | Dec | Type | bMag | vMag | B-V | SB | Dim | PA | z | D(z) | Dreyer Description | Identification, Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NGC 4518 | 12 33 11.7 | +07 51 08 | Gx (SB0) | 14.8 | 13.8 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 1 × 0.4 | 177 | 0.021828 | 92.20 | F, S, R, bM | h 1322; GC 3064; NGC 4518A; MCG 1-32-95; CGCG 42-150; NPM1G +08.0291; IRAS 12306+0806; VCC 1484 |
| NGC 4518 A | 12 33 11.7 | +07 51 08 | dup | 14.8 | 13.8 | 1.0 | 12.7 | 1 × 0.4 | 177 | 0.021828 | 92.20 | F, S, R, bM | h 1322; GC 3064; NGC 4518; MCG 1-32-95; CGCG 42-150; NPM1G +08.0291; IRAS 12306+0806; VCC 1484 |
| NGC 4518 B | 12 33 10.5 | +07 50 04 | Gx (Sab) | 15.0 | 14.2 | 0.8 | 12.6 | 0.9 × 0.3 | 36 | 0.020314 | 85.80 | F, S, R, bM | h 1322; GC 3064; MCG 1-32-94; CGCG 42-149; VCC 1480 |
Finder Chart
These galaxies are located in the constellation Virgo. On 28 March, they are in opposition to the Sun and crosses the meridian at midnight local time. The best time to observe them is during the months of January to June.
