Hellenica World

Eyes Galaxies

A Hubble Space Telescope (HST) image of NGC 4438.

Credit: HST/NASA/ESA.

Eyes Galaxies
Observation data (J2000.0 epoch)
Constellation Virgo
Right ascension 12h 27m 45.6s(J2000)
Declination +13° 00' 31" (J2000)
Redshift ?
Distance 52 million ly
Type SB0/SAb
Apparent dimensions (V) ?
Apparent magnitude (V) +10
Notable features Interacting
Other designations
NGC 4435-8, Arp 120
See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies

The Eyes Galaxies (NGC 4435-NGC 4438, also known as Arp 120) are a set of galaxies about 52 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. NGC 4438 is the most interesting interacting galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, due to the uncertain energy mechanism that heats the nuclear source. It could be due to starburst origin or a Black Hole embedded in an Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN). Both, the Starburst or AGN hypothesis are still plausible options, and they are under investigation until now.

Moreover, there is evidence that the environmental damaged interstellar medium of NGC 4438 may be due to an encounter (off-center collision) with NGC 4435, millions of years ago.








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