Messier 88
Encyclopedia
Messier 88 is a spiral galaxy
about 47 million
light-year
s away in the constellation
Coma Berenices
. It was discovered by Charles Messier
in 1781.
of galaxies. It is galaxy number 1401 in the Virgo Cluster Catalogue (VCC) of 2096 galaxies that are candidate members of the cluster. This galaxy may be on a highly elliptical orbit that is carrying it toward the cluster center, which is occupied by the giant elliptical galaxy
M87
. NGC 4501 is currently 0.3–0.48 million parsecs from the center and will come closest to the core in about 200–300 million years. The motion of this galaxy through the intergalactic medium of the Virgo cluster is creating a ram pressure that is stripping away the outer region of neutral hydrogen. This stripping has already been detected along the western, leading edge of the galaxy.
This galaxy is inclined to the line of sight by 64°. It is classified as an Sbc spiral, which lies between the Sb and Sc categories of medium-wound and loosely-wound spiral arms, respectively. The arm structure of the spirals is very regular and can be followed down to the galactic core. The maximum rotation velocity of the gas is 241.6 ± 4.5 km/s.
This is classified as a type 2 seyfert galaxy
, which means it produces narrow spectral line
emission from highly ion
ized gas in the galactic nuclei. In the core region there is a central condensation with a 230 parsec diameter, which has two concentration peaks. This condensation is being fed by inflow from the spiral arms. The supermassive black hole
at the core of this galaxy has 107.9 solar mass
es, or about 80 million times the mass of the Sun.
In 1999, supernova
1999cl was discovered in this galaxy.
Spiral galaxy
A spiral galaxy is a certain kind of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work The Realm of the Nebulae and, as such, forms part of the Hubble sequence. Spiral galaxies consist of a flat, rotating disk containing stars, gas and dust, and a central concentration of stars known as...
about 47 million
1 E23 m
To help compare different orders of magnitude, this page lists distances starting at 100 Zm .Distances shorter than 100 Zm* 140 Zm — 15 million light years — Distance to Centaurus A galaxy...
light-year
Light-year
A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...
s away in the constellation
Constellation
In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....
Coma Berenices
Coma Berenices
Coma Berenices is a traditional asterism that has since been defined as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is located near Leo, to which it formerly belonged, and accommodates the North Galactic Pole...
. It was discovered by Charles Messier
Charles Messier
Charles Messier was a French astronomer most notable for publishing an astronomical catalogue consisting of deep sky objects such as nebulae and star clusters that came to be known as the 110 "Messier objects"...
in 1781.
Properties
This galaxy is one of the fifteen Messier objects that belong the nearby Virgo ClusterVirgo Cluster
The Virgo Cluster is a cluster of galaxies whose center is 53.8 ± 0.3 Mly away in the constellation Virgo. Comprising approximately 1300 member galaxies, the cluster forms the heart of the larger Local Supercluster, of which the Local Group is an outlying member...
of galaxies. It is galaxy number 1401 in the Virgo Cluster Catalogue (VCC) of 2096 galaxies that are candidate members of the cluster. This galaxy may be on a highly elliptical orbit that is carrying it toward the cluster center, which is occupied by the giant elliptical galaxy
Elliptical galaxy
An elliptical galaxy is a galaxy having an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless brightness profile. They range in shape from nearly spherical to highly flat and in size from hundreds of millions to over one trillion stars...
M87
Messier 87
Messier 87 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy. It was discovered in 1781 by the French astronomer Charles Messier, who cataloged it as a nebulous feature. The second brightest galaxy within the northern Virgo Cluster, it is located about 16.4 million parsecs from Earth...
. NGC 4501 is currently 0.3–0.48 million parsecs from the center and will come closest to the core in about 200–300 million years. The motion of this galaxy through the intergalactic medium of the Virgo cluster is creating a ram pressure that is stripping away the outer region of neutral hydrogen. This stripping has already been detected along the western, leading edge of the galaxy.
This galaxy is inclined to the line of sight by 64°. It is classified as an Sbc spiral, which lies between the Sb and Sc categories of medium-wound and loosely-wound spiral arms, respectively. The arm structure of the spirals is very regular and can be followed down to the galactic core. The maximum rotation velocity of the gas is 241.6 ± 4.5 km/s.
This is classified as a type 2 seyfert galaxy
Seyfert galaxy
Seyfert galaxies are a class of galaxies with nuclei that produce spectral line emission from highly ionized gas, named after Carl Keenan Seyfert, the astronomer who first identified the class in 1943...
, which means it produces narrow spectral line
Spectral line
A spectral line is a dark or bright line in an otherwise uniform and continuous spectrum, resulting from a deficiency or excess of photons in a narrow frequency range, compared with the nearby frequencies.- Types of line spectra :...
emission from highly ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
ized gas in the galactic nuclei. In the core region there is a central condensation with a 230 parsec diameter, which has two concentration peaks. This condensation is being fed by inflow from the spiral arms. The supermassive black hole
Supermassive black hole
A supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole in a galaxy, in the order of hundreds of thousands to billions of solar masses. Most, and possibly all galaxies, including the Milky Way, are believed to contain supermassive black holes at their centers.Supermassive black holes have...
at the core of this galaxy has 107.9 solar mass
Solar mass
The solar mass , , is a standard unit of mass in astronomy, used to indicate the masses of other stars and galaxies...
es, or about 80 million times the mass of the Sun.
In 1999, supernova
Supernova
A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...
1999cl was discovered in this galaxy.