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public Observing fromLocation: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
SunriseRise: 6:04  
clear_day Transit: 12:06  
SunsetSet: 18:09
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All Constellations »  Virgo »  Deep Sky Objects » 

Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo

Altitude: 34.9°   Azimuth: 242.8°   Direction: West-South-West

Messier 87 is a Elliptical Galaxy in the Virgo constellation. Messier 87 is situated close to the celestial equator and, as such, it is at least partly visible from both hemispheres in certain times of the year.

The image below is a photograph of Messier 87 from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2 - see the credits section) taken in the red channel. The area of sky represented in the image is 0.5x0.5 degrees (30x30 arcmins).

Image of Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo star
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DSS2 image of Messier 87 in the Red band. The green region on the image is a representation of the major (7.11 arcmin) and minor (6.67 arcmin) axes of the object's apparent size.

Key facts about Messier 87

Messier 87
Galaxy
Virgo

Messier 87 is above the horizon from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt.

Altitude: 34.9°
Azimuth: 242.8°
Direction: West-South-West

See also Messier 87 rise and set times.

Given its visual magnitude of 8.63, Messier 87 is visible with the help of a binocular with a 60-70mm aperture or a small telescope.

Available Resources for Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo

Photometric information of Messier 87

The following table lists the magnitude of Messier 87 in different bands of the electomagnetic spectrum (when available), from the B band (445nm wavelength, corresponding to the Blue color), to the V band ( 551nm wavelength, corresponding to Green/Yellow color), to the J, H, K bands (corresponding to 1220nm, 1630nm, 2190nm wavelengths respectively, which are colors not visible to the human eye).

9.59
8.63
6.72
6.07
5.81

For more information about photometry in astronomy, check the photometric system article on Wikipedia.

The surface brightess reported below is an indication of the brightness per unit of angular area of Messier 87.

22.79 mag/arcsec2

Apparent size of Messier 87

The following table reports Messier 87 apparent angular size. The green area displayed on top of the DSS2 image of Messier 87 is a visual representation of it.
7.11 arcmin
6.67 arcmin
153°

Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo morphological classification

Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo is classified as Elliptical (E) according to the Hubble and de Vaucouleurs galaxy morphological classification. The diagram below shows a visual representation of the position of Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo in the Hubble de Vaucouleurs sequence.

Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo
Visualization of the morphological classification of Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo, Elliptical (E).
Credits for the background image: Antonio Ciccolella / M. De Leo / CC BY

Celestial coordinates and finder chart of Messier 87

Celestial coordinates for the J2000 equinox of Messier 87 are provided in the following table:

12h 30m 48s
+12° 23’ 27”

The simplified sky charts below show the position of Messier 87 in the sky. The first chart has a field of view of 60° while the second one has a field of view of 10°.

Finder chart Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo.

Finder chart Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo star
Simplified finder chart for Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo.

Rise and set times of Messier 87 from your location

Location: Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt
Latitude: 51° 28’ 47” N
Longitude: 0° 00’ 00” E
Timezone: Europe/London

Today's Messier 87 (Virgo A) - Elliptical Galaxy in Virgo rise, transit and set times from Greenwich, United Kingdom edit_location_alt are the following (all times relative to the local timezone Europe/London):

Azimuth: 77.6°
Max altitude: 50.9°
Azimuth: 282.4°