Messier 87 (also known as Virgo A or NGC 4486, generally abbreviated to M87) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that contains several trillion stars.

Mar 28, 2025 · Discovered in 1781 by Charles Messier, this galaxy is located 54 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Virgo. It has an apparent magnitude of 9.6 and can be observed using a small telescope most easily in May.

Apr 1, 2025 · M87, giant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo whose nucleus contains a black hole, the first ever to be directly imaged. M87 is the most powerful known source of radio energy among the thousands of galactic systems constituting the so-called Virgo Cluster.

Apr 17, 2023 · Messier 87 is a behemoth by any standard; it’s one of the most massive galaxies in the local Universe, spanning around 240,000 light years (studies suggest its tenuous outer regions may extend much further) and contains as many as ten times more stars than our own Milky Way Galaxy.

On April 10, 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) unveiled the first-ever image of a black hole’s event horizon, the area beyond which light cannot escape the immense gravity of the black hole. That giant black hole, with a mass of 6.5 billion Suns, is located in the elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87).

Jan 18, 2024 · This object, M87*, lies at the heart of the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87, 55 million light years away from Earth. The image of the black hole revealed a bright circular ring, brighter in the southern part of the ring.

Jan 22, 2024 · Nearly five years ago, a globe-spanning team of astronomers gave the world its first-ever glimpse of a black hole. Now the team has validated both their original findings and our understanding of black holes with a new image of the supermassive black hole M87*.

Aug 14, 2015 · Messier 87 (M87, NGC 4486), also known as Virgo A or the Smoking Gun, is a supergiant elliptical galaxy located in the core of the Virgo Cluster, in the constellation Virgo.

Messier 87 (also known as M87, Virgo A or NGC 4486) is a supergiant elliptical galaxy. It was discovered in 1781 by the French astronomer Charles Messier, who catalogued it as a nebulous feature.

Jun 10, 2019 · Located in the Virgo constellation, roughly 53.5 million light years from Earth, is the supergiant galaxy known as Messier 87 (Virgo A)