NGC 4603 [SEP] constellation
NGC 4603
NGC 4603 is a spiral galaxy located about 107 million light years away in the constellation Centaurus. It is a member of the Centaurus Cluster of galaxies, belonging to the section designated "Cen30". The morphological classification is SA(s)c, which indicates it is a pure spiral galaxy with relatively loosely wound arms.
During 1999, this galaxy was the subject of an extended study using the Hubble Space Telescope to locate Cepheid variable stars. A total of were found, and the measurement of their periodicity gave a net
in NGC 4603, which is 100 million light years distant.
Properties.
Classical Cepheid variables are 4–20 times more massive than the Sun, and around 1,000 to 50,000 (over 200,000 for the unusual V810 Centauri) times more luminous. Spectroscopically they are bright giants or low luminosity supergiants of spectral class F6 – K2. The temperature and spectral type vary as they pulsate. Their radii are a few tens to a few hundred times that of the sun. More luminous Cepheids are cooler and larger and have longer periods.