Messier 84 — Galaxy in Virgo

M84 is a massive elliptical or lenticular galaxy located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, near the heart of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It shines at magnitude 9.1 and spans about 163,000 light-years in diameter. M84 is classified as either an elliptical (E1) or lenticular (S0) galaxy, as its true shape remains debated. The galaxy harbors a supermassive black hole of approximately 1.5 billion solar masses — one of the most massive black holes known in any nearby galaxy. This black hole produces powerful radio jets, making M84 a strong radio source cataloged as 3C 272.1. M84 is one of the brightest members of the Virgo Cluster and sits along the famous Markarian's Chain, a striking curved line of galaxies visible in amateur telescopes.

Located in the core of the Virgo Cluster, about 1.4 degrees east of the midpoint between the eyes of Virgo (Epsilon and Delta Virginis). M84 forms a conspicuous pair with M86, just 17 arcminutes to its east — both galaxies are easily visible in the same low-power telescope field. In a 4-inch telescope at 80x, M84 appears as a bright, round, featureless glow with a brilliant nucleus. Larger apertures reveal it as part of Markarian's Chain, with multiple galaxies (M84, M86, NGC 4435, NGC 4438, and others) forming a graceful arc. Galaxy-hopping through this region is one of the highlights of spring observing. Best observed from March through June.

Discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781, along with several other galaxies in the Virgo Cluster during the same observing session. Messier described it as 'a nebula without a star.' In 1997, the Hubble Space Telescope measured the rapid rotation of gas around M84's central black hole, providing one of the earliest and most precise measurements of a supermassive black hole's mass using the gas kinematics method. The galaxy's radio jets were first detected in the 1960s, establishing M84 as an important object for studying AGN feedback.