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Messier 60

Hubble captured the elliptical galaxy, Messier 60, and a smaller spiral galaxy, NGC 4647.

Distance

54 million light-years

Apparent Magnitude

9.8

constellation

Virgo

object type

Elliptical Galaxy

M60 and NGC 4647
NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

The Virgo cluster is a collection of more than 1,300 galaxies, including the elliptical galaxy M60. Unlike spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies lack an organized structure and are nearly featureless, resembling the core of a spiral galaxy. The Virgo cluster’s third brightest member, M60 has a diameter of 120,000 light-years and is as massive as one trillion Suns. At its center lies a huge black hole, 4.5 billion times as massive as the Sun — one of the most massive black holes ever found.

In this stunning image, which includes observations taken in infrared and visible wavelengths, Hubble has captured M60 (the large, diffuse galaxy at the center) along with the bluish spiral galaxy NGC 4647 (upper right). NGC 4647 is about two-thirds the size of M60 — or roughly the size of the Milky Way galaxy — and is much less massive. The two galaxies form a pair known as Arp 116.

Astronomers have long tried to determine whether these two galaxies are actually interacting. Although from Earth they appear to overlap, there is no evidence of new star formation, which would be one of the clearest signs that the two galaxies are indeed interacting. However, recent studies of very detailed Hubble images suggest the onset of some tidal interaction between the two.

A large elliptical galaxy with a bright-white core. The galaxy’s light dims as you move outward from the core. Distant galaxies are visible through the elliptical’s diffuse light. A white box encloses a small, bright object to the lower right. In the upper-right corner of the image this white box is expanded to show a spherical dwarf galaxy.
This Hubble image shows the massive elliptical galaxy Messier 60 (also called M60, or NGC 4649). Highlighted in the inset is the dwarf galaxy M60-UDC1, which orbits the giant elliptical. Lying about 50 million light-years away, M60-UCD1 is a tiny galaxy with a diameter of 300 light-years — just 1/500th of the diameter of the Milky Way! Despite its size it is crowded, containing some 140 million stars. The dwarf galaxy may be the stripped remnant of a larger galaxy that was torn apart during a close encounter with Messier 60. Circumstantial evidence for this comes from the recent discovery of a monster black hole, which is not visible in this image, at the center of the dwarf. The black hole makes up 15 percent of the mass of the entire galaxy, making it much too big to have formed inside a dwarf galaxy.
NASA, ESA, and A. Seth (University of Utah)

Discovered by the German astronomer Johann Gottfried Keohler in 1779, M60 is located in the constellation Virgo roughly 54 million light-years from Earth. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.8, and its central region can be seen through a small telescope most easily during May. A larger telescope can reveal NGC 4647 as well.

For more information about Hubble’s observations of M60, see:

locator star chart for M60
This star chart for M60 represents the view from mid-northern latitudes for the given month and time.
Image courtesy of Stellarium

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