NGC 4881
Encyclopedia
NGC 4881 is an elliptical galaxy
about 352 million
light-year
s away in the constellation
Coma Berenices
. It is a member of the Coma cluster of galaxies
. NGC 4881 was discovered by Heinrich Louis d'Arrest
in 1865.
In 1994, the Hubble Space Telescope
took a look at the Coma cluster and NGC 4881.
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...
about 352 million
1 E24 m
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this page lists distances starting at 1 Ym .Distances shorter than 10 Ym* 1.2 Ym — 127 million light years — Distance to the closest observed gamma ray burst GRB 980425...
light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s 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....
Coma Berenices
Coma Berenices
Coma Berenices is a traditional asterism that has since been defined as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is located near Leo, to which it formerly belonged, and accommodates the North Galactic Pole...
. It is a member of the Coma cluster of galaxies
Coma cluster of galaxies
The Coma Cluster is a large cluster of galaxies that contains over 1,000 identified galaxies. Along with the Leo Cluster , it is one of the two major clusters comprising the Coma Supercluster. It is located in and takes its name from the constellation Coma Berenices.The cluster's mean distance...
. NGC 4881 was discovered by Heinrich Louis d'Arrest
Heinrich Louis d'Arrest
Heinrich Louis d'Arrest was a German astronomer, born in Berlin. His name is sometimes given as Heinrich Ludwig d'Arrest....
in 1865.
In 1994, the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
took a look at the Coma cluster and NGC 4881.