page_title: Virgo Cluster
hierarchical_section_title: Virgo Cluster
caption_attribution_description: English: This deep image of the Virgo Cluster obtained by Chris Mihos and his colleagues using the Burrell Schmidt telescope shows the diffuse light between the galaxies belonging to the cluster. North is up, east to the left. The dark spots indicate where bright foreground stars were removed from the image. Messier 87 is the largest galaxy in the picture (lower left). Français&#160;: Cette image détaillée de l'amas de la Vierge obtenue par Chris Mihos et ses collègues en utilisant le télescope Burrell Schmidt montre la lumière diffuse entre les galaxies de l'amas. Le Nord est vers le haut et l'Est vers la gauche (Télescope à miroir). Les ronds noirs correspondent aux emplacements d'étoiles brillantes situées premier plan qui ont été masquées. Messier 87 est la galaxie la plus grande de l'image (en bas à gauche). Čeština: Tento podrobný snímek Kupy galaxií v Panně, který pomocí Burrell Schmidtova dalekohledu pořídil Carl Mihos a jeho kolektiv, ukazuje rozptýlené světlo mezi galaxiemi, které patří do Kupy. Sever je nahoře, východ vlevo. Tmavé puntíky ukazují místa, odkud byly z obrázku odstraněny jasné hvězdy ležící v popředí. Messier 87 je největší galaxie v levé části snímku.
context_page_description: The Virgo Cluster is a cluster of galaxies whose center is 53.8 ± 0.3 Mly
  away in the constellation Virgo. Comprising approximately 1300 member galaxies, the cluster forms the heart of the larger Virgo Supercluster, of which the Local Group is a member. The Local Group actually experiences the mass of the Virgo Supercluster as the Virgocentric flow. It is estimated that the Virgo Cluster's mass is 1.2×10¹⁵ M☉ out to 8 degrees of the cluster's center or a radius of about 2.2 Mpc.
  Many of the brighter galaxies in this cluster, including the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87, were discovered in the late 1770s and early 1780s and subsequently included in Charles Messier's catalogue of non-cometary fuzzy objects. Described by Messier as nebulae without stars, their true nature was not recognized until the 1920s.
  The cluster subtends a maximum arc of approximately 8 degrees centered in the constellation Virgo. Although some of the cluster's most prominent members can be seen with smaller instruments, a 6-inch telescope will reveal about 160 of the cluster's galaxies on a clear night.
context_section_description: The Virgo Cluster is a cluster of galaxies whose center is 53.8 ± 0.3 Mly (16.5 ± 0.1 Mpc)
  away in the constellation Virgo. Comprising approximately 1300 (and possibly up to 2000) member galaxies, the cluster forms the heart of the larger Virgo Supercluster, of which the Local Group (containing our Milky Way galaxy) is a member. The Local Group actually experiences the mass of the Virgo Supercluster as the Virgocentric flow. It is estimated that the Virgo Cluster's mass is 1.2×10¹⁵ M☉ out to 8 degrees of the cluster's center or a radius of about 2.2 Mpc.
  Many of the brighter galaxies in this cluster, including the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87, were discovered in the late 1770s and early 1780s and subsequently included in Charles Messier's catalogue of non-cometary fuzzy objects. Described by Messier as nebulae without stars, their true nature was not recognized until the 1920s.
  The cluster subtends a maximum arc of approximately 8 degrees centered in the constellation Virgo. Although some of the cluster's most prominent members can be seen with smaller instruments, a 6-inch telescope will reveal about 160 of the cluster's galaxies on a clear night. Its brightest member is the elliptical galaxy Messier 49; however its most famous member is the elliptical galaxy Messier 87, which is located in the center of the cluster.
caption: Virgo Cluster showing the diffuse light between member galaxies. Messier 87 is the largest galaxy (lower left).
exif: {}