Q1112098

NGC 4504 is a spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo. The galaxy lies about 55 million light years away from Earth, which means, given its apparent dimensions, that NGC 4504 is approximately 70,000 light years across. It was discovered by William Herschel on March 20, 1789.

NGC 4504 has a point source nucleus embedded in a highly elliptical bulge. It is possible there is a small bar in the bulge. The galaxy has very low surface brightness arms emerging from the bulge. HII regions are visible in the disk, the largest of which are more than 3 arcseconds across. The star formation rate is estimated to be 0.45 M☉ per year based on the H-alpha emission. The galaxy has a small bar 0.36 arcminutes long and a ring with a diameter 0.93 arcminutes. In the nucleus of the galaxy lies a nuclear star cluster which has a radius of 4 arcseconds.