NGC4395

NGC 4395 is low surface brightness dwarf galaxy about 14 million light years distant in Canes Venatici.  Although visually dim, the apparent size of the galaxy is quite large, about 13’ x 11’. Unusually, it does not have a central bulge of stars in its central core and is significantly variable in X-Ray emissions with luminosity emissions varying by a factor of two within 300s. Three star forming regions, have separate designations (NGC 4401, 4400, 4399).

Most galaxies contain central black holes and radiation is produced as objects fall into them.  For NGC 4395, the core is extremely dim, so the mass of the associated black hole mass is believed to be extremely small, probably somewhere between 10,000 and 400,000 solar masses, making it one of the smallest black holes found in galaxies.

The LRGB image below has an Ha blend into the red channel and was taken by my Esprit 150 and represents about 18 hours integration time.

Alan