NGC 4197

Virgo

RA
12 14 38
DEC
+05 48 21

MAG 12.8 V

Type SB or Sd

"Pitchfork galaxy"

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Hi All, I am filling in for Dragan this week.

I am a big fan of edge on galaxies and NGC 4197 is a very unusual one. I just recently found out about NGC 4197 thanks to Sue French. I have never seen an edge on with a fork or split on one end before. When I first looked at a image of NGC 4197 I was curious as to what caused the split on the north end.

NGC 4197 Poss.gif

I have done a considerable amount of research trying to find out the cause of the fork. I have looked through the 117 references in NED and have not been able to find the cause of the fork. It looks like there has been some kind of interaction or tidal distortion but I check the redshift of nearby galaxies and could not find any to be close to or near the redshift of NGC 4197. I hope there will be more research done on this peculiar edge on in the near future. For now the Morphology of NGC 4197 is a mystery.

NGC 4197 invert SDSS.jpg

I have not observed NGC 4197 yet but it is high on my to do list. I will post my observations soon as I get a clear sky. I hope I will be able to see the fork and I look forward to hearing your observations of the Pitch Fork galaxy.


"Give it a go and let us know!
Good luck and great viewing!"