#messier 89

[quiltofstars]

A collection of galaxies in the Virgo Cluster // Peter Butler & Chuck's Astrophotography

Some of the galaxies include M89 (lower left), M58 (right), and the Butterfly Galaxies (top right).

[chibinotan]

Spherical Ellipse

[cosmicvastness]

M89: Elliptical Galaxy with Outer Shells and Plumes 

Can you see them? This famous Messier object M89, a seemingly simple elliptical galaxy, is surrounded by faint shells and plumes. The cause of the shells is currently unknown, but possibly tidal tails related to debris left over from absorbing numerous small galaxies in the past billion years. Alternatively the shells may be like ripples in a pond, where a recent collision with another large galaxy created density waves that ripple through this galactic giant. Regardless of the actual cause, the featured image highlights the increasing consensus that at least some elliptical galaxies have formed in the recent past, and that the outer halos of most large galaxies are not really smooth but have complexities induced by frequent interactions with -- and accretions of -- smaller nearby galaxies. The halo of our own Milky Way Galaxy is one example of such unexpected complexity. M89 is a member of the nearby Virgo cluster of galaxies which lies about 50 million light years distant. Credit: Mark Hanson

[quiltofstars]

M89 // Rod Hughes

Seen here as a faint pale circular orb, M89 is another member of the Virgo Cluster. Oddly enough, M89 might be perfectly spherical. Most other elliptical galaxies are, well, elliptical in shape.

It could be an orientation effect. If the galaxy's long axis is pointed towards the Earth, then an elliptically-shaped galaxy could appear perfectly spherical from our perspective.

On the other hand, it could just be a spherical galaxy! That would be slightly odd, since there is evidence that it has been through a few galaxy mergers. This should distort the shape away from spherical. More research is needed!

[quiltofstars]

Markarian’s Chain // Ethan Pearson

Some of the more prominent galaxies include: the pair known as “the Eyes”, M86 (left eye) and M84 (right eye) along with the “mouth” NGC 4388. The galaxy at bottom center is M87, at bottom left is M89 and M90, and the three brightest at top left (from left to right) are NGC 4571, M91, and M88.

[theuniverseatlarge]

Messier 89 - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo

M89 was discovered in 1781 by the French comet-hunter Charles Messier. It appears that M89 is nearly perfectly spherical, which is very unusual. Perhaps it is just due to our perspective? We have yet to know! Apologies for the singular image, these objects are hardly photographed...

Image: PD-HUBBLE