The galactic core of Messier 87, with its blue plasma jet clearly visible (composite image of observations by the Hubble Space Telescope in visible and infrared light)
Virgo A, Virgo X-1, NGC 4486, UGC 7654, PGC 41361, VCC 1316, Arp 152, 3C 274,[5] 3U 1228+12.[9]
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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. One of the largest and most massive galaxies in the local universe,[b] it has a large population of globular clusters—about 15,000 compared with the 150–200 orbiting the Milky Way—and a jet of energetic plasma that originates at the core and extends at least 1,500 parsecs (4,900 light-years), traveling at a relativistic speed. It is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky and a popular target for both amateur and professional astronomers.
The French astronomer Charles Messier discovered M87 in 1781, and cataloged it as a nebula. M87 is about 16.4 million parsecs (53 million light-years) from Earth and is the second-brightest galaxy within the northern Virgo Cluster, having many satellite galaxies. Unlike a disk-shaped spiral galaxy, M87 has no distinctive dust lanes. Instead, it has an almost featureless, ellipsoidal shape typical of most giant elliptical galaxies, diminishing in luminosity with distance from the center. Forming around one-sixth of its mass, M87's stars have a nearly spherically symmetric distribution. Their population density decreases with increasing distance from the core. It has an active supermassive black hole at its core, which forms the primary component of an active galactic nucleus. The black hole was imaged using data collected in 2017 by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), with a final, processed image released on 10 April 2019.[13] In March 2021, the EHT Collaboration presented, for the first time, a polarized-based image of the black hole which may help better reveal the forces giving rise to quasars.[14]
The galaxy is a strong source of multi-wavelength radiation, particularly radio waves. It has an isophotal diameter of 40.55 kiloparsecs (132,000 light-years), with a diffuse galactic envelope that extends to a radius of about 150 kiloparsecs (490,000 light-years), where it is truncated—possibly by an encounter with another galaxy. Its interstellar medium consists of diffuse gas enriched by elements emitted from evolved stars.
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^"Messier 87". SEDS Messier Catalog. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
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^De Vaucouleurs, Gerard; De Vaucouleurs, Antoinette; Corwin, Herold G.; Buta, Ronald J.; Paturel, Georges; Fouque, Pascal (1991). Third Reference Catalogue of Bright Galaxies. Bibcode:1991rc3..book.....D.
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^Overbye, Dennis (24 March 2021). "The most intimate portrait yet of a black hole – Two years of analyzing the polarized light from a galaxy's giant black hole has given scientists a glimpse at how quasars might arise". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 28 December 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
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Messier87 (also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, generally abbreviated to M87) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that contains...
with many being notable Messier objects. The brightest galaxy seen in the cluster is the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier87. With an apparent magnitude...
Earth: the black hole at the center of the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier87 (M87*, pronounced "M87-Star"), and Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*, pronounced...
This galaxy was discovered by astronomer Charles Messier in 1777. As an elliptical galaxy, Messier 49 has the physical form of a radio galaxy, but it...
brightest member is the elliptical galaxy Messier 49; however its most famous member is the elliptical galaxy Messier87, which is located in the center of the...
The Messier objects are a set of 110 astronomical objects catalogued by the French astronomer Charles Messier in his Catalogue des Nébuleuses et des Amas...
aircraft engine M-87 (Michigan highway), a former state highway in Michigan, US McDonnell Douglas MD-87, a passenger airplane Messier87, a giant elliptical...
Event Horizon Telescope: the black hole in the giant elliptical galaxy Messier87 and the black hole at the Milky Way’s center (Sagittarius A*). Supermassive...
children to take up the sport." Messier was born in St. Albert, Alberta, the son of Mary-Jean (Dea) and Doug Messier. He was the second son and third...
Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) in 2017 of the supermassive black hole in Messier87's galactic centre. As of 2023[update], the nearest known body thought...
away in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. Messier 90 is a member of the Virgo Cluster, being one of its largest and...
March 1781. The discovery was then reported to Charles Messier, who included the object in the Messier Catalogue of comet-like objects. It was one of the...
media. This type of radiation was first detected in a jet emitted by Messier87 in 1956 by Geoffrey R. Burbidge, who saw it as confirmation of a prediction...
Messier 81 (or Bode's Galaxy) Messier 84 Messier87 (or Virgo A) Messier 104 (or the Sombrero Galaxy) Messier 105 Messier 106 Mrk 421 Mrk 501 NGC 821 NGC 1023...
holes and explore the origin of the relativistic jet in the active galaxy Messier87. Between 2013 and 2015, the Taiwanese Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy...
illustration of Olbers' paradox (see below) Image of the central black hole of Messier87 taken by the Event Horizon Telescope. The fact that outer space is black...
different number. For example, Messier 109 (or "M109") is a spiral galaxy having the number 109 in the catalog of Messier. It also has the designations...
with rich globular cluster systems are NGC 4874, NGC 4889, NGC 3311 and Messier87. For comparison, the Milky Way has a poor globular cluster system, with...
polarized-based image of a black hole, specifically the black hole at the center of Messier87, an elliptical galaxy approximately 55 million light-years away in the...
supermassive black hole photo at the core of the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier87 is fake. The proof Earth is flat lies in a filled bottle where, if placed...
the majority of well-known black holes above 1 billion M☉ are shown. Messier galaxies with precisely known black holes are all included. New discoveries...
the night sky, close to the Messier objects M20 to M25 (except M24). It was discovered and catalogued by Charles Messier on June 5, 1764. This cluster...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Messier 106. StarDate: M106 Fact Sheet Spiral Galaxy M106 at SEDS Messier pages Messier 106 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX...
to Messier 82. M82, SEDS Messier pages M82 at Chandra SST: Galaxy on Fire! M82 at NASA/IPAC EXTRAGALACTIC DATABASE ESA/Hubble images of M82 Messier 82...
coach. Messier is the father of Paul Messier and Hockey Hall of Fame player Mark Messier. Sielski, Mike (26 April 2011). "Now Coaching: Mark Messier's Father"...
cluster of galaxies in the constellation Fornax. However, in contrast to Messier87, which is a similar elliptical galaxy that is located in the center of...