Messier 85 | |
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![]() Galaxy Messier 85 by Hubble Space Telescope | |
Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
Constellation | Coma Berenices |
Right ascension | 12h 25m 24.0528s [1] |
Declination | +18° 11′ 27.888″ [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] |
Size | 36.99 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]
Pierre Méchain discovered M85 in 1781. It is within the outskirts of the Virgo Cluster, and is relatively isolated. [6]
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]
Two supernovae and one luminous red nova have been observed in M85: