#messier 60

[quiltofstars]

M59 (left) and M60 (right) // Nicola Beltraminelli

[chibinotan]

Spiral and Elliptical Buddies

[quiltofstars]

M60 (center) and NGC 4647 (left) // David Brett

[quiltofstars]

Arp 116: M60 (elliptical galaxy, left) and NGC 4647 (spiral galaxy, right) // Willem Jan Drijfhout

[quiltofstars]

M60 (center) and NGC 4647 (lower right) // Michael Maas

[quiltofstars]

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.

[theuniverseatlarge]

Messier 60 - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo

Discovered in 1779 by Johann Gottfried Koehler and later catalogued by Charles Messier. Like most elliptical galaxies, M60 lacks active star formation and is essentially composed of very old stars, giving it a characteristic red hue. M60 also features one of the largest black holes ever found, weighing in at about 4.5 trillion times the mass of the sun!

Top: Wide-Field - NASA

Bottom: Close-Up - NASA

[stargateatlspace]

Odd Galaxy Couple on Space Voyage