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About this Object
M87 is a giant elliptical galaxy also called Virgo A. It lies within the famous Virgo cluster of galaxies. M87 is approx 60 million light years distant. M87 hosts an incredible amount of globular clusters, some of which can be seen as small specks near the galaxy in the higher resolution view. M87's brightest regions extend outward about 7 arc min but a much fainter halo extends out much futher. A large jet of material was discovered in 1918 extending outward from the core of M87. This jet is thought to be eminating from a black hole at the galaxy's core. An image of the jet taken from a 8 hour Hydrogen Alpha filtered image can be seen by clicking on the link above. Further information on M87 can be found at this excellent source http://seds.org/Messier/M/m087.html

Image Details

Optics : Stellarvue SV105 Triplet Refracter
Mount: Mountain Instruments MI-250
Camera: Starlight XpressSXV-H9 w/True Tech Supra Slim filter wheel
Filters: Astronomik Type 2C LRGB filter set
Exposure: 445:120:120:120 RGB Binned 2x2
Camera/Mount Control: Maxim DL 4.56, CCD Commander
Location: Stark Bayou Observatory, Ocean Springs, MS
Date: Jan 09