NGC 4216

NGC 4216 is a metal-rich^[2] intermediate spiral galaxy located not far from the center of the Virgo Cluster^[2] of galaxies, roughly 55 million light-years away.^[2] It was discovered by German-British astronomer William Herschel on 17 April 1784.^[3]

NGC 4216
NGC 4216 (center) imaged with a 24-inch telescope. The other two galaxies in the image are NGC 4206 (lower-right) and NGC 4222 (upper-left).
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Virgo
Right ascension	12h 15m 54.3728s[1]
Declination	+13° 08′ 58.08″[1]
Redshift	0.000437[1]
Distance	55 Mly[2]
Apparent magnitude (V)	11.0[1]
Characteristics
Type	SAB(s)b[1]
Apparent size (V)	8.1′ × 1.8′[1]
Other designations
VCC 167, HOLM 353A, IRAS 12133+1325, UGC 7284, MCG +02-31-072, PGC 39246, CGCG 069-112[1]

Physical characteristics

Seen nearly edge-on, NGC 4216 is one of the largest and brightest spiral galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, with an absolute magnitude that has been estimated to be −22 (i.e.: brighter than the Andromeda Galaxy),^[4] and like most spiral galaxies of this cluster shows a deficiency of neutral hydrogen that is concentrated within the galaxy's optical disk and has a low surface density for a galaxy of its type.^[5] This explains why NGC 4216 is considered an anemic galaxy by some authors, also with a low star formation activity for a galaxy of its type.^[6] In fact, the galaxy's disk shows pillar-like structures that may have been caused by interactions with the intracluster medium of Virgo and/or with nearby galaxies.^[7]

In NGC 4216's halo, besides a rich system of globular clusters estimated to number around 700 (nearly five times more than the Milky Way),^[4] two stellar streams that are interpreted as two satellite galaxies being disrupted and absorbed by this galaxy are present.^[7]

NGC 4216 with SN 2024gy

NGC 4216 seems to be in a place of the Virgo cluster where dwarf galaxies are being destroyed/accreted at a high rate, with it suffering many interactions with these type of galaxies.^[8]

One supernova has been observed in NGC 4216: SN 2024gy (type Ia, mag. 16.3) was discovered by Kōichi Itagaki on 4 January 2024.^[9]

NGC 4216, along with NGC 4206, NGC 4222, and IC 771, are listed together as Holm 353 in Erik Holmberg's A Study of Double and Multiple Galaxies Together with Inquiries into some General Metagalactic Problems, published in 1937.^[10]

See also

• List of NGC objects (4001–5000)