Galaxies Messier 89 & Messier 90

History

The galaxy M 89 was discovered by Charles Messier on 18 March 1781. He wrote about M 89: «Nebula without a star, in the Virgo, somewhat distant and reported as No. 87 on the same parallel as the nebula. The light is very weak and rare, it can only be perceived with difficulty.» That same night, Messier also discovered M 90 and wrote the same thing about it as he wrote about M 89: «Nebula without a star, in Virgo: its light is about as weak as the previous No. 89.» [281]

IC 3583 was discovered on 29 April 1892 by the British astronomer Isaac Roberts. [196]

M 90 is listed as Arp 76 together with the small irregular companion galaxy IC 3583 in Halton Arp's 1966 «Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies» as an example of a galaxy with a small companion of high surface brightness. [199]

Messier 89
Messier 89: Image taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. © ESA/Hubble & NASA [215]

Physical Properties of Galaxy M 89

M 89 has about 100 billion stars and is an elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster about 55 million light years away from us. Elliptical galaxies are usually in the shape of an elongated ellipsoid, but M 89 appears completely round to us. Presumably its long axis points in our direction. M 89 is slightly smaller than the Milky Way, but has some interesting features. A structure of gas and dust extends up to 150'000 light years from the center of the galaxy, which is home to a supermassive black hole. Jets with heated particles reach up to 100'000 light years out of the galaxy, suggesting that M 89 may once have been far more active than it is today. Maybe it was an active quasar or a radio galaxy. It is also surrounded by an extensive system of shells and plumes that may have been caused by previous mergers with smaller galaxies. M 89 as we know it today could possibly only have emerged in the relatively recent past. [215]

Messier 90
Messier 90: Galaxy M90 in Virgo; 500 mm Cassegrain 3625 mm f/7.2; SBIG STL11K; 120+40+40+40 min LRGB; Bernese Highlands; © 2011 Radek Chromik [32]

Physical Properties of Galaxy M 90

M 90 is a beautiful spiral galaxy and about 59 million years away from us. It contains about one trillion (1012) stars and 1000 globular clusters. With the exception of the inner region, few new stars form in the arms. Past interactions with neighboring galaxies have probably taken gas and material that M 90 would need for the formation of new stars in the outer regions. In the future, M 90 could evolve into a lenticular galaxy. In contrast to most other galaxies, M 90 does not move away from us, but comes towards us. It seems to revolve around the colossal center of mass of the Virgo cluster. This is moving away from us, but the M 90 is moving faster. [215] Measured distances are ranging from 9 Mpc to 18 Mpc. [145]

IC 3583
IC 3583: Image taken with the Hubble Space Telescope. © ESA/Hubble & NASA [290]

Physical Properties of Galaxy IC 3583

IC 3583 is an irregular dwarf galaxy. According to measurements, it is at a distance of 8.2 to 17 Mpc (26 to 55 million light years) and lies in about the same distance as M 90. [145]

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 4531 12 34 15.8 +13 04 33 Gx (SB0-a) 12.3 11.4 0.9 13.3 3.1 × 2 155 0.000650 2.75 15.200 F, pL, R, vgbM UGC 7729, MCG 2-32-141, CGCG 70-175, VCC 1552, IRAS 12317+1321
NGC 4552 12 35 39.9 +12 33 22 Gx (E0) 10.7 9.8 0.9 13.2 3.5 × 3.5 0.001134 4.79 15.550 pB, pS, R, gmbM M 89, UGC 7760, MCG 2-32-149, CGCG 70-184, VCC 1632
NGC 4569 12 36 50.0 +13 09 50 Gx (SBab) 10.3 9.5 0.8 13.5 9.5 × 4.4 23 -0.000784 12.350 pL, bMN M 90, UGC 7786, MCG 2-32-155, Arp 76, VCC 1690, CGCG 70-192, IRAS 12343+1326
IC 3540 12 35 27.2 +12 45 03 Gx (S0-a) 14.9 14.0 0.9 12.9 0.7 × 0.6 66 0.002497 10.55 vS, R, sev. condens MCG 2-32-146, CGCG 70-180, ARAK 379, VCC 1614, NPM1G +13.0310
IC 3574 12 36 27.7 +12 24 20 Gx (E?) 15.3 14.3 1.0 12.8 0.6 × 0.4 115 0.066713 281.7 vF, vS, ? * 14 VCC 1665, NPM1G +12.0328
IC 3583 12 36 43.8 +13 15 33 Gx (IBm) 13.9 13.3 0.6 14.1 2.2 × 1.1 0 0.003739 15.79 14.200 vmE, * 13 att sf, 2 st 12 nr UGC 7784, MCG 2-32-154, CGCG 70-191, Arp 76, VCC 1686, IRAS 12341+1332
IC 3586 12 36 54.9 +12 31 13 Gx (S0) 14.6 13.6 1.0 13.8 1.1 × 1 90 0.005160 21.80 20.650 vF, cS, dif MCG 2-32-157, CGCG 70-193, VCC 1695

Finder Chart

The galaxy group is located in the constellation Virgo roughly on the line between the two stars Vindemiatrix (ε Virginis) and Denebola (β Leonis). The best observation time is February to June.

Finder Chart Galaxies Messier 89 & Messier 90
Galaxies Messier 89 & Messier 90 in constellation Virgo. 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