Galaxy Messier 85

Messier 85
Messier 85: Messier 85 (middle) mit NGC 4394 (left), IC 3292 (right) and MCG 3-32-28 (below M 85). Sloan Digitized Sky Survey [147]

Object Description

The galaxy M 85 was discovered by Pierre Méchain on 4 March 1781 and visited by Charles Messier on March 18. Messier wrote about M 85: «Nebula without a star, below and next to the ear of the Virgin, between the two stars 11 and 14 of the hair of Berenice, according to the catalog of Flamsteed: This nebula is very faint. M. Méchain had determined his position on 4 March 1781.» Here Messier apparently made a mistake and meant the star 24 Comae Berenices instead of 14 or it was a misprint in the «La Connoissance» of 1784. In the same night he came across numerous other «nebulae without a star» in the Virgo cluster: M 84, M 86, M 87, M 88, M 89, M 90 and M 91. [281]

Physical Properties

Messier 85
Messier 85: Image taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. © ESA/Hubble & NASA [215]

In the case of M 85, there is still no full agreement as to whether it is an elliptical or a lenticular galaxy. Lenticular galaxies have properties of both elliptical and spiral galaxies and are sometimes called «armless spiral galaxies». M 85 interacts with two neighboring galaxies: spiral galaxy NGC 4394 and elliptical galaxy MCG 3-32-28 (not MCG 3-32-38 as in the ESA/Hubble Press Release). The galaxies are members of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster and are about 60 million light years away from Earth.

About four to seven billion years ago, M 85 appears to have merged with another galaxy. M 85 contains about 400 billion stars, most of which are very old. In the central region, however, there are predominantly young stars, less than three billion years old. These could have come from a recent outbreak of star formation. There is a supermassive black hole in the core of M 85. In 2006 a supernova occurred northeast of the core. [215]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Name RA Dec Type bMag vMag B-V SB Dim PA z D(z) MD Dreyer Description Identification, Remarks
NGC 4382 12 25 23.9 +18 11 27 Gx (S0-a) 10.0 9.1 0.9 12.9 7.1 × 5.5 5 0.002432 10.27 17.080 vB, pL, R, bM, * np M 85, UGC 7508, MCG 3-32-29, KCPG 334A, CGCG 99-45, VCC 798
NGC 4394 12 25 55.6 +18 12 51 Gx (SBb) 11.7 10.9 0.8 13.4 3.4 × 3.2 141 0.003075 12.99 16.800 pB, lE, bM UGC 7523, MCG 3-32-35, CGCG 99-47, IRAS 12234+1829, VCC 857, KCPG 334B
IC 3292 12 24 48.3 +18 11 44 Gx (S0-a) 15.7 14.8 0.9 12.9 0.5 × 0.4 0.002325 9.82 15.580 F, vS, R, bM CGCG 99-39, VCC 751, NPM1G +18.0327

Finder Chart

The galaxy M 85 is located in the constellation Coma Berenices (Hair of Berenices) between the stars 24 Comae Berenices and 11 Comae Berenices, about 1 ° 10 'east of 11 Comae Berenices.

Finder Chart Galaxy Messier 85
Galaxy Messier 85 in constellation Coma Berenices. Charts created using SkySafari 6 Pro and STScI Digitized Sky Survey. Limiting magnitudes: Constellation chart ~6.5 mag, DSS2 close-ups ~20 mag. [149, 160]

More Objects Nearby (±15°)

References