Mar 27
M60 (center) and NGC 4647 (left) // David Brett
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M60 (center) and NGC 4647 (left) // David Brett
Galactic Pair
Arp 116: M60 (elliptical galaxy, left) and NGC 4647 (spiral galaxy, right) // Willem Jan Drijfhout
M60 (center) and NGC 4647 (above left of center) // Wei-Hao Wang
The elliptical galaxy M60 was discovered by Johann Koehler just days before Messier himself observed it. It is the third-brightest giant elliptical galaxy in the Virgo cluster and contains about a billion times the mass of our Sun.
Notably, M60 appears to be close to the spiral galaxy NGC 4647. However, there doesn't seem to be any evidence that these two galaxies are actually interacting. New data from the Hubble Space Telescope seems to suggest that the interaction has only just begun.
Visible in this image within the disk of NGC 4647 is the supernova SN 2022hrs that occurred on April 16, 2022. You can see below the progression that the supernova took, being very bright at first and dimming over the course of four months.
Spiral and Elliptical Buddies
Odd Galaxy Couple on Space Voyage