Messier 87 (also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, generally abbreviated to M87) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that contains several trillion stars.

Aug 14, 2015 · It has the designation NGC 4486 in the New General Catalogue. Virgo A occupies an area of 7.2 by 6.8 arc minutes of apparent sky, which corresponds to a linear diameter of 120,000 light years, roughly the same size as the Milky Way.

Messier 87 (also known as M87, Virgo A or NGC 4486) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy. It was discovered in 1781 by the French astronomer Charles Messier, who catalogued it as a nebulous feature.

Mar 28, 2025 · Discovered in 1781 by Charles Messier, this galaxy is located 54 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.6 and can be …

Apr 17, 2023 · Amid all the sparkling spiral galaxies this seemingly unremarkable object is in fact mighty Messier 87 (NGC 4486, Virgo A), a supergiant elliptical galaxy (class E0, most spherical rather than flattened) that’s the powerhouse, central galaxy of the Virgo Cluster.

Apr 2, 2025 · Messier 87 is a large Elliptical Galaxy in the constellation of Virgo. Messier 87 is located approximately 55 million light-years away. The galaxy was discovered by Charles Messier, the French astronomer who lived between 1730 and 1817 in Paris. Charles indexed the galaxy in his catalogue with the ID of 87, hence its name.

Mar 3, 2024 · The galaxy's designation, NGC 4486, comes from the New General Catalogue of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars. The galaxy's name, "Smoking Gun," is a colloquial term due to its association with the observed jet activity.

Messier 87 (M87), also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, is an elliptical supergiant galaxy situated in the constellation of Virgo. This remarkable astronomical entity has been subject to intense study due to its peculiar features, such as the jet of relativistic plasma and, notably, the supermassive black hole at its center.

Dec 17, 2024 · Eddie Gonzales Jr. – MessageToEagle.com – Also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, M87 is the brightest object in the Virgo cluster of galaxies, the largest gravitationally bound type of structure in the universe.

Messier 87 or M87 (also designated NGC 4486) is a in the constellation . It has an apparent visual magnitude of 8.6 and its angular diameter is 7 arc-minutes. M87 lies at an estimated distance of 60 million light years. The Equinox 2000 coordinates are RA= 12h 30.8m, Dec= +12° 24´ which makes M87 best seen during the spring.