The Virgo Cluster is the closest large cluster of galaxies to the Milky Way. With over a thousand known members, the cluster spans an area of the sky about 5 by 3 degrees in size. While some of the most prominent members can be seen in smaller instruments, a 6-inch telescope will reveal about 160 galaxies in this region on a clear night.
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Messier 108 (M108), nicknamed the Surfboard Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies at an approximate distance of 45.9 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 10.7. It has the designation NGC 3556 in the New General Catalogue.
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Messier 95 (M95) is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Leo. It lies at a distance of 32.6 million light years from Earth. Messier 95 has the designation NGC 3351 in the New General Catalogue. It occupies an area of 3.1 by 2.9 arc minutes of apparent sky, which corresponds to a spatial extension of about 46,000 light years.
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Messier 64 (M64), also known as the Black Eye Galaxy, Evil Eye Galaxy, or Sleeping Beauty Galaxy, is a famous spiral galaxy located in the constellation Coma Berenices. Messier 64 has an apparent magnitude of 9.36 and lies at a distance of 24 million light years from Earth. The galaxy has the designation NGC 4826 in the New General Catalogue.
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Messier 59 (M59) is an elliptical galaxy located in the southern constellation Virgo. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 10.6. M59 lies at an approximate distance of 60 million light years from Earth. It has the designation NGC 4621 in the New General Catalogue.
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