File:M49.png

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Messier 49

The elliptical galaxy M49 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771. Not only was it the first object discovered in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, but it was also the first elliptical galaxy detected outside of the Milky Way’s Local Group. Unlike spiral galaxies that have well-defined structures and picturesque spiral arms, elliptical galaxies are fairly featureless with little structure. The stars in elliptical galaxies are usually much older than those in spiral galaxies. M49 also contains a rich collection of globular star clusters — nearly 6,000.

This Hubble image of M49 was created using observations at infrared wavelengths. There is an X-ray source at the core of the galaxy, indicating that a supermassive black hole lurks at the center of M49. The estimated mass of this supermassive black hole is roughly 565 million times the mass of our sun.

M49 is located 60 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.4 and can be observed using a pair of binoculars. The best time to observe the galaxy is during the month of May.
Source https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-49
Author Credits: NASA, ESA, STScI and J. Blakeslee (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory)
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Public domain This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)
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current12:18, 22 October 2017Thumbnail for version as of 12:18, 22 October 20171,252 × 1,222 (1.03 MB)Fabian RRRR (talk | contribs){{Information |Description='''Messier 49 The elliptical galaxy M49 was discovered by Charles Messier in 1771. Not only was it the first object discovered in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, but it was also the first elliptical galaxy detected outside of...

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