NGC 474

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/ngc-474

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the galaxy type?Lenticular galaxy (S0)
2. What is the redshift (z)?0.0075
3. Why does NGC 474 have a hot X‑ray halo?The halo is made of gas that was heated to millions of degrees when smaller galaxies fell into NGC 474 and their gas was shocked by gravity.
4. How big is the halo around NGC 474?The halo stretches hundreds of thousands of light‑years beyond the visible part of the galaxy, making it one of the brightest and most extended in the sky.

Lenticular Galaxy (S0): A galaxy with a central bulge and a disk, lacking spiral arms, often considered intermediate between spirals and ellipticals.
X-ray Halo: An extended region of extremely hot gas around a galaxy, detectable by its X-ray emissions.
Galactic Accretion: The process by which a galaxy grows by absorbing smaller galaxies or gas clouds.
Intergalactic Medium: The diffuse plasma that exists in the space between galaxies.