Galaxies in Virgo
The bright ovals at the top of this image are Messier 86 (left) and Messier 84 (right), two elliptical galaxies that are part of the Virgo galaxy cluster. The Virgo cluster contains several thousand galaxies, many of which can be seen with amateur telescopes under dark skies. Several of these galaxies, of different sizes and shapes, can be seen in this picture. At the bottom is the large spiral galaxy NGC 4388. The galaxies of the Virgo cluster are more than 50 million light years away.
Many smaller and dimmer galaxies can be seen when this picture is presented in a larger format.
M84:
| Magnitude | 9.3 |
| Apparent Size | 5' x 4' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 60 million |
| Right Ascension | 12:25.1 |
| Declination | +12 53 |
M86:
| Magnitude | 9.2 |
| Apparent Size | 7' x 5' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 52 million |
| Right Ascension | 12:26.2 |
| Declination | +15 57 |
Image details: Exposure times of 36 minutes luminance and 12 minutes each of red, green, and blue, taken with an SBIG ST-8300M imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/6.
June 2014