Messier 85

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Messier 85
Messier85 - HST - Potw1905a.jpg
Galaxy Messier 85 by Hubble Space Telescope
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Constellation Coma Berenices
Right ascension 12h 25m 24.0s [1]
Declination +18° 11 28 [1]
Redshift 729 ± 2 km/s [1]
Distance 60 ± 4 Mly (18.5 ± 1.2 Mpc) [2]
Apparent magnitude  (V)9.1 [3]
Characteristics
Type SA(s)0+ pec [1] /E2 [4]
Size36.99 kiloparsecs (120,600 light-years) [1] [5]
(diameter; 2MASS total aperture)
Apparent size  (V)7′.1 × 5′.5 [1]
Other designations
NGC 4382, UGC 7508, PGC 40515 [1]

Messier 85 (also known as M85 or NGC 4382 or PGC 40515 or ISD 0135852) is a lenticular galaxy, or elliptical galaxy for other authors, [4] in the Coma Berenices constellation. It is 60 million light-years away, and has a diameter of about 36.99 kiloparsecs (120,600 light-years ) across. [1] [5]

Contents

Pierre Méchain discovered M85 in 1781. It is within the outskirts of the Virgo cluster, and is relatively isolated. [6]

Properties

M85 is extremely poor in neutral hydrogen [7] and has a very complex outer structure with shells and ripples that are thought to have been caused by a merger with another galaxy that took place between 4 and 7 billion years ago, [7] as well as a relatively young (<3 billion years old) stellar population on its centermost region, some of it in a ring, that may have been created by a late starburst. [8] Like other massive, early-type galaxies, it has different populations of globular clusters. Aside from the typical "red" and "blue" populations, there is also a population with intermediate colors and an even redder population. [6] It is likely transitioning from being a lenticular galaxy into an elliptical galaxy. [6]

While indirect methods imply that Messier 85 should contain a central supermassive black hole of around 100 million solar masses, [9] velocity dispersion observations imply that the galaxy may entirely lack a central massive black hole. [10]

M85 is interacting with the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 4394, and a small elliptical galaxy called MCG 3-32-38. [11]

Compared to other early-type galaxies, M85 emits a relatively smaller proportion of X-rays. [6]

Novae and Supernovae

The type I supernova, SN 1960R was discovered in M85 on December 20, 1960 and reached an apparent magnitude of 11.7 (its effect in the telescope-resolvable sky to outshine most red dwarves a million times closer).

This galaxy has also been the host of the first luminous red nova identified as such, M85 OT2006-1. It was discovered on January 7 of 2006 and took place on the outskirts of this galaxy. [12]

On 25 June 2020, the ATLAS telescope in Hawaii spotted type Ia supernova SN 2020nlb in M85, which reached a peak magnitude of 12.0. [13] [14] [15]

Location of M85 M85map.png
Location of M85

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elliptical galaxy</span> Spherical or ovoid mass of stars

An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy with an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless image. They are one of the four main classes of galaxy described by Edwin Hubble in his Hubble sequence and 1936 work The Realm of the Nebulae, along with spiral and lenticular galaxies. Elliptical (E) galaxies are, together with lenticular galaxies (S0) with their large-scale disks, and ES galaxies with their intermediate scale disks, a subset of the "early-type" galaxy population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgo Cluster</span> Galaxy cluster in the constellation Virgo

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lenticular galaxy</span> Class of galaxy between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy

A lenticular galaxy is a type of galaxy intermediate between an elliptical and a spiral galaxy in galaxy morphological classification schemes. It contains a large-scale disc but does not have large-scale spiral arms. Lenticular galaxies are disc galaxies that have used up or lost most of their interstellar matter and therefore have very little ongoing star formation. They may, however, retain significant dust in their disks. As a result, they consist mainly of aging stars. Despite the morphological differences, lenticular and elliptical galaxies share common properties like spectral features and scaling relations. Both can be considered early-type galaxies that are passively evolving, at least in the local part of the Universe. Connecting the E galaxies with the S0 galaxies are the ES galaxies with intermediate-scale discs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centaurus A</span> Radio galaxy in the constellation Centaurus

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sombrero Galaxy</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

The Sombrero Galaxy is a peculiar galaxy of unclear classification in the constellation borders of Virgo and Corvus, being about 9.55 megaparsecs from the Milky Way galaxy. It is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. It has an isophotal diameter of approximately 29.09 to 32.32 kiloparsecs, making it slightly bigger in size than the Milky Way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 5866</span> Galaxy in the constellation Draco

NGC 5866 is a lenticular galaxy in the constellation Draco. NGC 5866 was most likely discovered by Pierre Méchain or Charles Messier in 1781, and independently found by William Herschel in 1788. Measured orbital velocities of its globular cluster system imply that dark matter makes up only 34%±45% of the mass within 5 effective radii, a notable paucity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 32</span> Dwarf elliptical galaxy in the constellation Andromeda

Messier 32 is a dwarf "early-type" galaxy about 2,650,000 light-years (810,000 pc) from the Solar System, appearing in the constellation Andromeda. M32 is a satellite galaxy of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and was discovered by Guillaume Le Gentil in 1749.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 49</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo

Messier 49 is a giant elliptical galaxy about 56 million light-years away in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. This galaxy was discovered by astronomer Charles Messier in 1777.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 59</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo

Messier 59 or M59, also known as NGC 4621, is an elliptical galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster, with the nearest fellow member 8′ away and around 5 magnitudes fainter. The nearest cluster member of comparable brightness is the lenticular galaxy NGC 4638, which is around 17′ away. It and the angularly nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 60 were both discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in April 1779 when observing comet seeming close by. Charles Messier listed both in the Messier Catalogue about three days after Koehler's discovery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 60</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo

Messier 60 or M60, also known as NGC 4649, is an elliptical galaxy approximately 57 million light-years away in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. Together with NGC 4647, it forms a pair known as Arp 116. Messier 60 and nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 59 were discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in April 1779, observing a comet in the same part of the sky. Charles Messier added both to his catalogue about three days after this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 84</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

Messier 84 or M84, also known as NGC 4374, is a giant elliptical or lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo. Charles Messier discovered the object in 1781 in a systematic search for "nebulous objects" in the night sky. It is the 84th object in the Messier Catalogue and in the heavily populated core of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, part of the local supercluster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 86</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo

Messier 86 is an elliptical or lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. M86 lies in the heart of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and forms a most conspicuous group with another large galaxy known as Messier 84. It displays the highest blue shift of all Messier objects, as it is, net of its other vectors of travel, approaching the Milky Way at 244 km/s. This is due to both galaxies falling roughly towards the center of the Virgo cluster from opposing ends.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 89</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo

Messier 89 is an elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781. M89 is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 3115</span> Galaxy in the constellation Sextans

NGC 3115 is a field lenticular (S0) galaxy in the constellation Sextans. The galaxy was discovered by William Herschel on February 22, 1787. At about 32 million light-years away from Earth, it is several times bigger than the Milky Way. It is a lenticular (S0) galaxy because it contains a disk and a central bulge of stars, but without a detectable spiral pattern. NGC 3115 is seen almost exactly edge-on, but was nevertheless mis-classified as elliptical. There is some speculation that NGC 3115, in its youth, was a quasar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messier 105</span> Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Leo

Messier 105 or M105, also known as NGC 3379, is an elliptical galaxy 36.6 million light-years away in the equatorial constellation of Leo. It is the biggest elliptical galaxy in the Messier catalogue that is not in the Virgo cluster. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781, just a few days after he discovered the nearby galaxies Messier 95 and Messier 96. This galaxy is one of a few not object-verified by Messier so omitted in the editions of his Catalogue of his era. It was appended when Helen S. Hogg found a letter by Méchain locating and describing this object which matched those aspects under its first-published name, NGC 3379.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1316</span> Lenticular radio galaxy in the constellation Fornax

NGC 1316 is a lenticular galaxy about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. It is a radio galaxy and at 1400 MHz is the fourth-brightest radio source in the sky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4526</span> Lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4526 is a lenticular galaxy with an embedded dusty disc, located approximately 55 million light-years from the Solar System in the Virgo constellation and discovered on 13 April 1784 by William Herschel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 1553</span> Galaxy in the constellation Dorado

NGC 1553 is a prototypical lenticular galaxy in the constellation Dorado. It is the second brightest member of the Dorado Group of galaxies. British astronomer John Herschel discovered NGC 1553 on December 5, 1834 using an 18.7 inch reflector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NGC 4636</span> Galaxy in the constellation Virgo

NGC 4636 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It is a member of the NGC 4753 Group of galaxies, which is a member of the Virgo II Groups, a series of galaxies and galaxy clusters strung out from the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. It is located at a distance of about 55 million light years from Earth, which, given its apparent dimensions, means that NGC 4636 is about 105,000 light years across.

References

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  7. 1 2 Hibbard, J. E.; Sansom, A. E. (2003). "A Search for H I in Five Elliptical Galaxies with Fine Structure". The Astronomical Journal . 125 (2): 667–683. arXiv: astro-ph/0211003 . Bibcode:2003AJ....125..667H. doi:10.1086/345822. S2CID   14748737.
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  10. Gultekin, Kayhan; Richstone, Douglas O.; et al. (2011). "Is There a Black Hole in NGC 4382?". Astrophysical Journal . 741 (1): L142–L146. arXiv: 1108.1808 . Bibcode:2011ApJ...741...38G. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/741/1/38. S2CID   411264.
  11. "M85, Lenticular Galaxy". Messier's Nebulae and Star Clusters. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
  12. Kulkarni, S. R.; Ofek, E. O.; Rau, A.; Cenko, S. B.; et al. (2007). "An unusually brilliant transient in the galaxy M85". Nature . 447 (7143): 458–460. arXiv: 0705.3668 . Bibcode:2007Natur.447..458K. doi:10.1038/nature05822. PMID   17522679. S2CID   4300285.
  13. "AstroNote 2020-126". ATLAS20qoq (AT2020nlb): discovery of a candidate SN in MESSIER 85 (17 Mpc). Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  14. "Messier 85". SEDS: Galaxy M85. Retrieved 23 February 2010.
  15. "SN 2020nlb". SIMBAD . Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg . Retrieved 23 February 2010.