A remarkable grouping of galaxies near the center of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster forming the largest "happy face" in the known universe. The left and right "eyes" are the giant elliptical galaxies M86 and M84, respectively, the "nose" is the elliptical galaxy NGC4387, and the "mouth" is the spiral galaxy NGC4388.
Surrounding this unique group are several smaller galaxies, the most prominent of which are the spiral galaxy NGC4413 to the left of the "mouth," and IC3303 between the mouth and the right eye.
M86 is one of the largest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies, containing more than a trillion solar masses. It is also one of the few Messier galaxies having a spectroscopic blueshift, meaning that it is approaching us (at a rate of 260 miles per second). However, keep in mind that this is merely a random motion within the context of the Virgo Cluster itself, which as a whole is receding from us (redshifted).
The Virgo Cluster is a vast field of 2,000 galaxies, 60 million light years away. It is in the core of the much larger "Local Supercluster" of galaxies, a gigantic pancake-shaped field some 100 million light years across. The enormous mass of this supercluster is gobbling up surrounding galaxies, including the Local Group of galaxies of which our Milky Way galaxy is a part. The Local Supercluster contains an estimated 10^15 stars, and is emitting far less radiation than this mass would suggest. This is compelling evidence for the existence of "dark matter" in the universe (matter that cannot be directly observed).
Galaxies M84 and M86 in Virgo
Date Taken:June 11, 2005
Location Taken: Conditions of Location:FWHM 2.15
Equipment Used:Takahashi TOA-130 5" apochromat refractor telescope, SBIG ST-10XME CCD camera, Optec TCF-S focuser, Astrodon RGB filters.
Processing Used:6x600 sec luminance, 7x90 sec RGB, guided, processed in Maxim DL and Photoshop
Distance from Location:60 million light years
Constellation:Virgo (the "virgin")
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