Messier 86 — Galaxy in Virgo

M86 is a large elliptical or lenticular galaxy located about 52 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, near the heart of the Virgo Cluster. It is one of the most prominent galaxies in the cluster core and a key member of Markarian's Chain — a beautiful curved line of galaxies stretching across the central Virgo Cluster. M86 is notable for having the highest blueshift of any Messier galaxy, approaching us at about 244 km/s relative to our Sun. This means it is actually moving toward the Milky Way rather than receding with the Hubble flow, likely due to the complex gravitational dynamics within the Virgo Cluster. The galaxy has an extensive system of globular clusters, numbering around 3,800.

Located in the heart of the Virgo Cluster, about 1 degree west of M84 and roughly in line with the chain of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain. M86 and M84 are frequently observed together as a striking pair — they fit in the same low-power telescope field separated by only 17 arcminutes. A 4-inch telescope shows both as bright, round fuzzy patches. An 8-inch telescope begins to reveal M86's slightly elongated shape and a brilliant core. With a wide-field eyepiece and larger aperture, you can trace several galaxies of Markarian's Chain in a single sweep. Best observed from March through June.

Discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781, on the same productive night when he cataloged eight other Virgo Cluster galaxies. Early observers classified it simply as a nebula. Its nature as an extragalactic object was not established until the 20th century. X-ray observations by the Chandra space telescope revealed a long plume of hot gas extending from M86, likely stripped by ram pressure as the galaxy plows through the intracluster medium at high speed.