NGC 4395 has a halo that is about 8′ in diameter. It has several patches of greater brightness running northwest to southeast. The one furthest southeast is the brightest. Three of the patches have their own NGC numbers: 4401, 4400, and 4399 running east to west.[3]
The galaxy is highly unusual for Seyfert galaxies, because it does not have a bulge and is considered to be a dwarf galaxy.[4]
Observational history
NGC 4395 was imaged and classified as a "spiral nebula" in a 1920 paper by astronomerFrancis G. Pease.[5] Now, it is known to be a galaxy distinct from the Milky Way (see Great Debate). Along with several other nearby galaxies, resolved stars in NGC 4395 were used to measure the expansion rate of the Universe by Allan Sandage and Gustav Andreas Tammann in their 1974 paper.[6] More recently, NGC 4395 was discovered to contain a very low-luminosity active galactic nucleus.[7] Since then, its nucleus has been the subject of several academic papers and attempts to measure the mass of its central black hole.
Nucleus
NGC 4395 is one of the least luminous and nearest Seyfert galaxies known.[4] The nucleus of NGC 4395 is notable for containing one of the smallest supermassive black holes with a well-measured mass.[8] The central black hole has a mass of "only" 300,000 M☉.[9] However, a recent study found a black hole mass of just 10,000 M☉.[10] The low-mass black hole in NGC 4395 would make it a so-called "intermediate-mass black hole".[11] The black hole may have a truncated disk. [12]
^Sandage, A.; Tammann, G. A. (December 1974). "Steps toward the Hubble constant. IV - Distances to 39 galaxies in the general field leading to a calibration of the galaxy luminosity classes and a first hint of the value of H sub 0". The Astrophysical Journal. 194: 559. Bibcode:1974ApJ...194..559S. doi:10.1086/153275. ISSN0004-637X.