M87

M87 is probably the largest and best known galaxy in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, a conglomerate of objects which lies partly in the northernmost portion of Virgo and the southernmost portion of Coma Berenices. While not at all certain, it is often suggested that M87 marks the center of this cluster, the closest large galaxy cluster to our own Local Group. This elliptical galaxy is a true giant, containing at least 2 1/2 trillion stars and although lying about 55 million light years from Earth, it spans more than 30 minutes of arc on long exposure photos. This gives M87 a physical size of more than 500,000 light years and it is host to a central black hole of about 2 or 3 billion solar masses which is surrounded by a rapidly rotating gaseous accretion disk. In addition, M87 is surrounded by a halo of at least 10,000 globular star clusters. A spectacular jet extends thousands of light years outward from the active center and pointing almost toward our solar system; a less prominent jet has been discovered in the opposite direction. M87 is now known to be the source of Virgo A, the strongest radio source in the constellation Virgo. Only one supernova has been recorded in M87, which occurred in 1919 but was not discovered until 1922 due to a lack of the sophisticated search techniques used today.

Photo taken February 28, 2012, with the C-14 operating at F:3.5 and the ST-8 camera binned 2 X 2. Exposure was 7 1/2 minutes.