M59
Galaxy in Virgo
About
An elliptical galaxy in Virgo, about 50 million light-years away. It has an unusually rich system of about 2,200 globular clusters and a central black hole of roughly 270 million solar masses. Its core rotates against the rest of the galaxy.
Imaging tips
- About 5′ by 3′, too small to frame: use a long focal length and a fine pixel scale.
- A 115 mm refractor with 4 h 15 min of 3-minute subs under Bortle 4 skies caught dozens of galaxies around M59 and M60, so a wider field is rewarding.
- Highlights in the bright ellipticals were a concern: the imagers zoomed in on M60 and its spiral neighbour NGC 4647 and compressed the range with HDR tools.
- NGC 4638, a lenticular galaxy, lies about 17′ away, near enough for a wider field.
- Best in March and April.
Facts
- Size
- 5′ × 3′
- Magnitude
- 9.6
- Coordinates
- RA 12h 42.0m, Dec +11° 39′
- Framing, APS-C
- longer than 4000 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Mar, Apr
- Peak altitude
- 52° from 50°N, 67° from 35°N