M87

M87 = NGC4486 ( 12h 30.8m +12°24´, 8.6 mag. )
This giant elliptical galaxy in Virgo was discovered by Messier on March 18, 1781.

M87's black holes gets its kicks from merger
KEITH COOPER
ASTRONOMY NOW
Posted: 26 May 2010 ...

M87 (also known as Virgo A, Messier Object 87, Messier 87 or NGC 4486) is a giant elliptical galaxy dominating the Virgo cluster. Identified as a strong radio source, it is also one of the largest known galaxies.

The core of M87, revealing a black hole nucleus
Below is a NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of a spiral-shaped disk of hot gas in the core of active galaxy M87. Hubble measurements show the disk is rotating very rapidly.

M84, M86, and M87: three more ellipticals, in a very rich region. M87 is the centre of the Virgo Cluster, and is one of the most luminous galaxies known.
M89: small elliptical, resembling M87 but fainter.
M90: nice spiral in same region as M89.

M87 (NGC 4486, elliptical galaxy)
M97 (NGC 3587, Owl Nebula)
M101 (NGC 5457, spiral galaxy)
M104 (NGC 4594, Sombrero Galaxy)
M110 (NGC 205, companion to M31)
Mach's principle
MACHO Project
MACHOs
macroturbulence
Maffei 1 Group ...

A radio galaxy such as M87 could be found anywhere within z=10 by current techniques. These wavelengths are domanated by nonthermal processes such as synchrotron radiation.

The first elliptical galaxy for which useful dynamical information about its core was obtained was M87, the brightest member of the Virgo galaxy cluster. Because M87 is relatively nearby and very large, its core is easily resolved.

Getting back to the very massive black holes, you might remember that the radio galaxy M87 (Figure 7) is likely to have a huge black hole in its core, and there are many galaxies with visible disks in their cores, jets, ...

Slee identify NGC 4486 (M87) and NGC 5128 as extragalactic radio sources,
1953 - Gerard de Vaucouleurs discovers that the galaxies within approximately 200 million light years of the Virgo cluster are confined to a giant supercluster disk, ...

Hubble has also allowed astronomers to probe the fine details of the Virgo Cluster's most prominent object"the huge M87 galaxy (Figure 25.5)"and what they have found is again in excellent agreement with the idea that the energy is produced by ...

The core of the active galaxy M87 is seen to have a disk of hot gas moving very quickly around the center. Doppler shifts of the disk material close to the center show that the gas is moving at speeds of hundreds of kilometers per second.

The constellation Virgo is the site of an elliptical galaxy known as M87. This galaxy is also a member of the famous Virgo cluster of galaxies. It is located about 60 million light-years from Earth and has a diameter of around 120,000 light-years.

An artist's concept shows the supermassive black hole in the heart of M87, a giant galaxy in the constellation Virgo. The black hole is in the center of the orange disk. The disk itself is made of hot gas spiraling into the black hole.

July's Hubble Heritage image is of M87, AKA NGC 4486, AKA Virgo A, a giant elliptical galaxy.

On our way to our next target, the Sombrero Galaxy, we will take a short detour to a trio of round galaxies, M87, M60, and M49.

The Virgo cluster is a massive cluster of over 100 galaxies (including M61, M87, M90, and M100) and a lot of very hot, X-ray emitting gas. This cluster is located mostly within the constellation Virgo.

Elliptical galaxies: The galaxy in the photo is M87, a typical elliptical galaxy. They usually consist of old stars. Some dwarf ellipticals have as few as 10 million stars, and make them not much different from a large globular cluster.

In 1994, astronomers, with the help of the Hubble Space Telescope, found evidence of a supermassive black hole at the center of M87, a galaxy in the constellation Virgo.

The giant elliptical galaxy M87, the biggest member of the cluster, is centered in that area while other cluster members are scattered around it.

The jet from the centre of the elliptical galaxy, M87, is powered by the supermassive black hole at its centre.
Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).

A strong radio source. Optically, it is an elliptical galaxy (M87) with a luminous blue jet about 1500 pc long. It is also an X-ray source (3C 274, Virgo X-1, 2U 1228+12). [H76]
Virgo Cluster ...

Related images (other sources -- see under 'Related Images' on the links below)
AAT 54. NGC 4486, (M87) and its globular clusters
AAT 100. M104, the Sombrero galaxy, NGC 4594
UKS 31. The center of the Virgo Cluster, wide field ...

Figure: The giant elliptical galaxy M87 at the heart of the Virgo cluster of galaxies.

A Hubble Space Telescope image of a spiral-shaped disk of hot gas in the core of active galaxy M87. The disk is rotating so rapidly it contains a massive black hole at its hub. (Courtesy of NASA)
(28K GIF) ...

nrao.edu, How Radio Telescopes Work
The Jet of Galaxy M87
Further reading
Journals ...

In 1994 astronomers employing the Hubble Space Telescope announced that they had found conclusive evidence of a supermassive black hole in the M87 galaxy in the constellation Virgo.

M60 (elliptical galaxy)
M61 (spiral galaxy)
M84 (elliptical galaxy)
M86 (elliptical galaxy)
M87 Virgo A (elliptical galaxy)
M89 (elliptical galaxy)
M90 (spiral galaxy)
M104 The Sombrero Galaxy (spiral galaxy) ...

ELLIPTICAL GALAXY
An elliptical galaxy is a galaxy that has the shape of an ellipse. It is also called an "E" or "E-type" galaxy. M87 and M32 are elliptical galaxies.
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Absolute magnitudes for stars generally range from âˆ'10 to +17. The absolute magnitude for galaxies can be much lower (brighter). For example, the giant elliptical galaxy M87 has an absolute magnitude of âˆ'22.
[edit] Computation ...

light-years from Earth (the closest major galactic cluster and the center of our Local Supercluster). It contains roughly 2,000 galaxies, a tremendous amount of hot gas and perhaps a black hole; the dominant (largest) galaxy is the elliptical M87 ...

Its mass is ~1 x 1014 Msun, and it contains ~ 2,000 galaxies, with many more spiral galaxies than typical for a cluster of this size. There are three clearly identifiable sub-clusters (centered on M87, M86, and M49) and has an irregular X-ray halo ...

In 1994 the Hubble Space Telescope provided conclusive evidence for the existence of a supermassive black hole at the centre of the M87 galaxy. It has a mass equal to two to three billion Suns but is no larger than the solar system.

See also: Galaxy, Galaxies, Light, Cluster, Field

Topic: Astronomy