This is my second submission to
Sky-Watcher Target of the Month for May 2023.
From Wikipedia:
NGC 4762 is an edge-on
lenticular galaxy in the constellation
Virgo. It is at a distance of 60 million [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_years]light years[/url] and is a member of the
Virgo Cluster. The edge-on view of this particular galaxy, originally considered to be a
barred spiral galaxy, makes it difficult to determine its true shape, but it is considered that the galaxy consists of four main components — a central bulge, a bar, a thick disc and an outer ring. The galaxy's disc is asymmetric and warped, which could be explained by NGC 4762 mergering with a smaller galaxy in the past. The remains of this former companion may then have settled within NGC 4762's disc, redistributing the gas and stars and so changing the disc's morphology.
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