M49
Galaxy in Virgo
About
A giant elliptical galaxy in Virgo, about 56 million light-years away, and the most luminous member of the Virgo Cluster. It has an estimated 5,900 globular clusters, and the nucleus hosts a black hole of roughly 565 million solar masses.
Imaging tips
- About 9′ × 7′: 2,690–4,490 mm on APS-C, or a long-focal-length crop of a wider frame.
- Galaxy imaging needs broadband, not narrowband. One team took about 5 hours of 5-minute RGB subs and stopped, finding no gas or fine detail to bring out.
- Many small background galaxies share the frame; the same write-up advises keeping them natural and not over-processing.
- Surface brightness is 21.5 mag/arcsec². M60, M84, M86 and M87 lie close in the sky, so a wider frame shows more of Virgo. Best in March and April.
Facts
- Size
- 9′ × 7′
- Magnitude
- 8.4
- Coordinates
- RA 12h 29.8m, Dec +8° 0′
- Framing, APS-C
- 2690–4490 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Mar, Apr
- Peak altitude
- 48° from 50°N, 63° from 35°N