Galaxy Messier 88

Messier 88
Messier 88: Galaxy in Coma Berenices; 500 mm Cassegrain 3625 mm f/7.2; SBIG STL11K; 90+30+30+30 min LRGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2011 Radek Chromik [32]

History

The galaxy M 88 was discovered by Charles Messier on 18 March 1787. He wrote: «Nebula without a star, in Virgo, between two small stars and a star of the sixth magnitude, which appear simultaneously in the field of view of the telescope. The brightness is one of the weaker and is like no. 58 in Virgo.» [281]

Physical Properties

Messier 88
Messier 88: Image taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. © ESA/Hubble & NASA [215]

M 88 is a spiral galaxy with well-defined and symmetrical spiral arms. It is about 47 million light years away and one of the fifteen Messier galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. It is a Seyfert galaxy and has an active core, which means that the central area of the galaxy is brighter than the rest of the galaxy. In the center there is a supermassive black hole with about 100 million solar masses. M 88 contains about 400 billion stars and is moving away from our galaxy. [215]

Revised+Historic NGC/IC Version 22/9, © 2022 Dr. Wolfgang Steinicke [277]
Designation NGC 4501
Type Gx (Sb)
Right Ascension (J2000.0) 12h 31m 59.0s
Declination (J2000.0) +14° 25' 11"
Diameter 6.8 × 3.7 arcmin
Photographic (blue) magnitude 10.4 mag
Visual magnitude 9.6 mag
Surface brightness 13.0 mag·arcmin-2
Position Angle 140°
Redshift (z) 0.007609
Distance derived from z 32.14 Mpc
Metric Distance 19.130 Mpc
Dreyer Description B, vL, vmE
Identification, Remarks M 88, UGC 7675, MCG 3-32-59, CGCG 99-76, VCC 1401

Other Galaxies in that Area

«Catalogue of Principal Galaxies» Paturel et al., 1989 [144]
PGC RA Dec Type Dim Btot HRV PA Names
PGC 41320 12 30 27.4 +14 09 32 S .6 x .4 15.0 6019 IC 3432, MCG 2-32-102, CGCG 70-135, VCC 1293, KUG 1227+144
PGC 41435 12 31 20.2 +14 06 54 E .9 x .8 14.6 6210 IC 3442, MCG 2-32-111, CGCG 70-144, VCC 1355
PGC 41468 12 31 38.6 +27 29 46 S 1.2 x .2 15.7 7009 26 IC 3454, UGC 7670, MCG 5-30-13, CGCG 159-10
PGC 41515 12 31 59.0 +14 18 27 E .8 x .4 16.2 VCC 1400
PGC 41608 12 32 42.2 +14 03 03 IB 2.2 x 1.9 13.1 -171 30 IC 3476, UGC 7695, MCG 2-32-125, CGCG 70-157, VV 563, VCC 1450
PGC 41614 12 32 44.4 +14 11 47 LB 1.1 x 1.0 14.4 1876 IC 3478, UGC 7696, MCG 2-32-126, CGCG 70-158, VCC 1453
PGC 41661 12 33 07.7 +14 34 32 SB 1.8 x .9 13.3 958 0 NGC 4516, UGC 7703, MCG 3-32-67, CGCG 99-87, VCC 1479

Finder Chart

M 88 is located in the constellation Coma Berenices. The best observation time is January to July.

Finder Chart Galaxy Messier 88
Galaxy Messier 88 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