M88
Galaxy in Coma Berenices
About
An unbarred spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices, about 59 million light-years away, with a Seyfert 2 nucleus. As it moves through the Virgo Cluster, ram pressure is stripping neutral hydrogen from its western, leading edge.
Imaging tips
- About 7′ by 4′, so 3,460–5,770 mm on APS-C frames it.
- A spiral, so broadband suits it. One 10-inch f/6.3 image used twelve 3-minute frames with no filter and still showed a dark lane around the nucleus.
- The same write-up notes that larger telescopes reveal fainter, finer spiral arms; at 21.8 mag/arcsec² they need more total time than the core.
- Best in March and April.
Facts
- Size
- 7′ × 4′
- Magnitude
- 9.6
- Coordinates
- RA 12h 31.9m, Dec +14° 25′
- Framing, APS-C
- 3460–5770 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Mar, Apr
- Peak altitude
- 54° from 50°N, 69° from 35°N