Messier 61
| Messier 61 | |
|---|---|
M61 imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on April 28, 2014 | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Right ascension | 12h 21m 54.9205s |
| Declination | +04° 28′ 25.631″ |
| Redshift | 0.005224±0.000007 |
| Heliocentric radial velocity | 1566±2 km/s |
| Galactocentric velocity | 1483±4 km/s |
| Distance | 52.5 ± 2.3 Mly (16.10 ± 0.71 Mpc) |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 9.7 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SAB(rs)bc, HIISy2 |
| Size | ~92,300 ly (28.30 kpc) (estimated) |
| Apparent size (V) | 6.5′ × 5.8′ |
| Other designations | |
| HOLM 379A, IRAS 12194+0444, NGC 4303, UGC 7420, MCG +01-32-022, PGC 40001, CGCG 042-045 | |
References: SIMBAD: Search M61 | |
Messier 61 (also known as M61, NGC 4303, or the Swelling Spiral Galaxy) is an intermediate barred spiral galaxy in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It was first discovered by Barnaba Oriani on May 5, 1779, six days before Charles Messier discovered the same galaxy. Messier had observed it on the same night as Oriani but had mistaken it for a comet. Its distance has been estimated to be 45.61 million light years from the Milky Way Galaxy. It is a member of the M61 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.