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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Elliptical Galaxy M87
Explanation: Elliptical galaxy M87 is a type of galaxy that looks much different than our own Milky Way Galaxy . But even for an elliptical galaxy M 87 is peculiar. M87 is much bigger than an average galaxy, appears at the center of a whole cluster of galaxies known as the Virgo Cluster, and shows a very high number of globular clusters . These globular clusters are visible as faint spots surrounding the bright center of M87. In general, elliptical galaxies contain similar numbers of stars as spiral galaxies , but are ellipsoidal in shape (spirals are mostly flat), have no spiral structure, and little gas and dust . This picture is number sixty on a publicly posted list of images from the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT).
| Date | September 13, 1995 |
|---|---|
| Credit |
Credit: Anglo-Australian Telescope photograph by David Malin Copyright: Anglo-Australian Telescope Board |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |