Neha Patil (Editor)

NGC 4631 Group

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Right ascension
  
12 09

Brightest member
  
NGC 4631

Declination
  
+30° 02′

Number of galaxies
  
5-27

Constellation(s)
  
Canes Venatici & Coma Berenices

The NGC 4631 Group is a poorly defined group of galaxies, about 25 million light years from Earth in the Coma Berenices and Canes Venatici constellations.

Members

  • spiral galaxy NGC 4631 (Whale Galaxy), brightest galaxy in the group
  • interacting galaxies NGC 4656 and NGC 4657 (Hockey Stick Galaxies)
  • dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 4627, which is a companion of NGC 4631, is also by default a member of the group, although it is not listed in most catalogs

    • Aside from these four galaxies, however, the determination of group membership is quite variable. The group lies in a relatively crowded part of the sky near the Virgo Cluster, so exact determination of the group membership is extremely difficult. Some studies have estimated that the NGC 4631 Group contains as few as 5 galaxies, while others place the estimate as high as 27. Additionally, it is unclear as to whether the galaxies near NGC 4631 and NGC 4656/NGC4657 form one large group or two smaller groups.

    References

    NGC 4631 Group Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA