M89
NGC 4552
Properties
Position & Identifiers
Visibility
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Eyepiece View
M89 · 8.1′×8.0′ · N up, E left
Surface Brightness & Visibility
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Redshift
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About M89
Description
M89 is an elliptical galaxy in Virgo, about 50 million light-years from Earth. It is remarkably close to perfectly spherical — one of the roundest galaxies known. M89 spans about 80,000 light-years and contains about 100 billion stars. It has a complex system of shells and plumes extending far beyond its visible disk, evidence of past mergers.
Observing Tips
Located about 50 arcminutes east of M87 in the central Virgo Cluster. In a telescope it appears as a small, round, bright glow with a concentrated nucleus — very typical of elliptical galaxies and easily confused with nearby M90 or M58 without a good chart. Best observed from March through June as part of a Virgo galaxy tour.
History
Discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781. Deep imaging has revealed an extensive system of faint shells and tidal features extending over 150,000 light-years from the center, invisible in amateur telescopes.
Fun Facts
M89 appears perfectly circular in projection — whether it is truly spherical or is an oblate spheroid seen face-on is still debated. Deep images reveal shells and jets extending far beyond the visible galaxy, evidence of one or more past galaxy mergers that have been mostly digested over billions of years.