NGC 4696
Encyclopedia
NGC 4696 is an elliptical galaxy
. It lies around 150 million light years away in the constellation
Centaurus
. It is the brightest galaxy in the Centaurus Cluster
, a large, rich cluster of galaxies in the constellation of the same name. The galaxy is surrounded by many dwarf elliptical galaxies also located within the cluster.
Elliptical galaxy
An elliptical galaxy is a galaxy having an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless brightness profile. They range in shape from nearly spherical to highly flat and in size from hundreds of millions to over one trillion stars...
. It lies around 150 million light years away in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Centaurus
Centaurus
Centaurus is a bright constellation in the southern sky. One of the largest constellations, Centaurus was included among the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations.-Stars:...
. It is the brightest galaxy in the Centaurus Cluster
Centaurus Cluster
The Centaurus Cluster is a cluster of hundreds of galaxies, located approximately 155 million light years away in the Centaurus constellation. The brightest member galaxy is the elliptical galaxy NGC 4696...
, a large, rich cluster of galaxies in the constellation of the same name. The galaxy is surrounded by many dwarf elliptical galaxies also located within the cluster.