NGC 4550 [SEP] constellation
NGC 4550
NGC 4550 is a barred lenticular galaxy located in the constellation of Virgo that can be seen with amateur telescopes. It lies at a distance of 50 million light-years (15.5 mega parsecs) from the Milky Way and is a member of the Virgo Cluster.
Physical characteristics.
While NGC 4550 is not one of the brightest galaxies of the Virgo Cluster, its notable as it's one of the few galaxies where a large amount of its stars rotate around the galaxy's center in opposite direction to
is the spiral galaxy NGC 7217. The stars of this galaxy are concentrated in two disks of similar size and surface brightness, one nested within the other and it has been suggested it's the product of the merger between two previous disk galaxies, each one counter-rotating with respect to the other.
NGC 4550's center also shows a small amount of molecular hydrogen and interstellar dust, the latter concentrated in a disk surrounding its core where star formation is taking place albeit at a very modest level.