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Messier catalogue · Galaxy

M87 NGC 4486

Elliptical galaxy in Virgo; the jet is difficult to see visually.

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Photograph of M87 — NGC 4486
Photograph from volume II · The field may be partial and the colours may result from processing. Credits and source.

Essential information

Category
Galaxy
Constellation
Virgo (Vir)
Alternative designation
NGC 4486
Right ascension / declination
12h31 / +12°24′
Visual magnitude
8,6
Indicative distance
≈ 54 M ly

RA / Dec.: J2000, rounded to the nearest minute. ly = light-year; M ly = million light-years; ≈ = approximate value; — = not available.

At the eyepiece

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Elliptical galaxy in Virgo; the jet is difficult to see visually.

Locating guide from the book5,9° SSE of 11 Com

N, S, E and W indicate cardinal directions; combinations give a more precise direction. Greek letters identify the constellation’s guide stars. Check the route on a suitable chart.

Photographs help you recognise structures, but do not predict the view through an eyepiece. Detection depends on the sky, the object’s altitude and your instrument.

Sources and credits

Fact sheet adapted from Comprendre comment explorer le ciel, volume II by Steve Cimolino, version dated 17 October 2026. Values and advice are taken from the book; they are not real-time ephemerides.

NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); Acknowledgment: P. Cote (Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics) and E. Baltz (Stanford University). NASA / ESA / STScI reuse; see the NASA and ESA/Hubble terms below.

Photograph source and original description ↗ · NASA / ESA / STScI terms

Image resized and converted to WebP for this site; colours and proportions retained. Each image’s own licence continues to apply.

Book data: NASA HEASARC ; coordinates adapted fromOpenNGC, Mattia Verga under CC BY-SA 4.0. The relevant adapted data retain this licence. All image attributions and terms →

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