Mayall II
Mayall II is a globular cluster orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31). Also known as Andromeda’s Cluster and Globular One (G1), it is the most… Read More »Mayall II
First Image of a Black Hole Captured in M87
The historic first image of a black hole was released by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration on April 10, 2019. An international team of scientists used observations with the Event Horizon Telescope, a worldwide network of eight ground-based radio telescopes, to capture an image of the supermassive black hole at the heart of the supergiant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (Virgo A).
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Virgo Cluster
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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Markarian’s Chain
Messier galaxies M84 and M86 are part of Markarian’s Chain, a striking stretch of galaxies that lie along a curved line near the heart of the Virgo Cluster. The string of galaxies – which also includes NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435 – occupies more than a full degree on the border between Virgo and Coma Berenices and can be seen in an 8-inch reflector on a clear, dark night.
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Hubble Images of the Pillars of Creation
In a new Hubble’s Universe Unfiltered podcast, Dr. Frank Summers, astrophysicist at the Space Telescope Science Institute, analyzes and compares three different images of the Pillars of Creation region in the Eagle Nebula (M16), taken in 1995 and 2014.
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Messier 110: Edward Young Star
Messier 110 (M110), also known as the Edward Young Star, is a dwarf elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda. M110 is a satellite of the much larger Andromeda Galaxy (M31). It lies at a distance of 2.69 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.92. It has the designation NGC 205 in the New General Catalogue.
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Messier 109
Messier 109 (M109) is a barred spiral galaxy located in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy lies at a distance of 83.5 million light years and has an apparent magnitude of 10.6. It has the designation NGC 3992 in the New General Catalogue.
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