NGC 4874

Coma A
300px NGC 4874 dominates this picture created from optical and near-infrared exposures taken with the Wide Field Channel of Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation	Coma Berenices
Right ascension	12h 59m 35.709s
Declination	+27° 57′ 33.80″
Redshift	0.23937
Distance	109 Mpc (360 Mly)
Type	cD, Ei, E0
Apparent magnitude (V)	12.7
Other designations
NGC 4874, NFP J125935.7+275734, [BGH2001] 237, [KK90] 169, B2 1257+28, 10P 236, [BO85] Coma 1, [L84] A1656-G2, 5C 4.85, SDSS J125935.70+275733.3, [BTM97] ACO 1656 2, [LGF2005] B125711+281340, CAIRNS J125935.60+275734.0, TT 12, [CHM2007] LDC 926 J125935.70+2757338, [LO95] 1257+282, FOCA 0728-499, UGC 8103, [CHM2007] HDC 745 J125935.70+2757338, [MHR2010] 194.8988+27.9593, GIN 765, UZC J125935.6+275734, [D80] ACO 1656 129, [MO2001b] J125935.7+275732.3, GMP 3329, 4W 1257+28W01, [DFO95] 246, [MOL2003] A1656 J125935+275730, GP 489, 7W 1257+28W01, [DLB87] C11, [OLK95] 1257+282, LEDA 44628, WSTB 74W16, [EDG2007] 3, [OR76] 1257+282, 2MASX J12593562+2757360, Z 1257.2+2814, [FBH2004] X281, [OSR2002] b089, 2MASX J12593570+2757338, Z 160-A22, [FBH2004] S89, [PL95] ACO 1656 G2, MCG+05-31-070, Z 160A-22, [FWB89] Galaxy 321, [ZBO89] ACO 1656-5, MPMM 123, Z 160-231, [K94] 125710.70+281346.0

NGC 4874 (Coma A) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy. It was discovered by the British astronomer Frederick William Herschel I in 1785, who catalogued it as a bright patch of nebulous feature. The second brightest galaxy within the northern Coma Cluster, it is located at a distance of 109 megaparsecs (350 million light years) from Earth. Unlike a disc-shaped spiral galaxy like the Milky Way, NGC 4874 has no extensive dust lanes or spiral arms and has a smooth, featureless, ball-shaped profile that diminishes in luminosity with distance from the center. The galaxy is surrounded by an immense stellar halo that extends up to 1 million light years in diameter. It is also enveloped by a huge cloud of interstellar medium that is currently being heated by action of infalling material from its central supermassive black hole. A jet of highly energetic plasma extends out to 1,700 light years from its center.