M84
NGC 4374
Elliptical
Proprietà
Posizione e identificatori
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Su M84
Descrizione
M84 is a giant elliptical (or lenticular) galaxy in Virgo, about 60 million light-years from Earth. It lies at the heart of the Virgo Cluster, along the famous Markarian's Chain — a curved string of galaxies visible in a single telescope field. M84 harbors a supermassive black hole of about 1.5 billion solar masses and produces two powerful radio jets.
Consigli per l'osservazione
Located at the beginning of Markarian's Chain, a beautiful arc of galaxies extending east from M84 and M86. In a telescope, M84 appears as a bright, round, featureless glow close to M86. The two galaxies and several fainter ones form one of the most spectacular galaxy fields in amateur astronomy. Use low power (50-60x) to fit the chain into the field. Best observed from March through June.
Storia
Discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781. The Markarian's Chain in which it resides was described by Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian in 1961. Hubble Space Telescope observations revealed a fast-rotating gas disk around the central black hole.
Curiosità
M84's central black hole was one of the first to be confirmed through Hubble spectroscopy, which showed gas orbiting at speeds of 400 km/s. The galaxy emits two powerful radio jets visible in radio telescope images. M84 and M86 together anchor Markarian's Chain — arguably the most photogenic galaxy chain accessible to amateur telescopes.
Foto della comunità (1)
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA. License: CC BY 4.0. (Wikimedia Commons)
Skybred Feb 28, 2026