The M87 is the largest galaxy within the Virgo cluster.
It has a diameter of approximately 120,000 light years. The Milky Way Galaxy is a mere 100,000 light years.
The Earth for comparison has a diameter of 0.0645 light seconds.
Messier 87 is an elliptical galaxy.
gas
M87 is classified as an elliptical galaxy in the Hubble classification system, denoted as "E0" for its round shape and absence of spiral arms.
At the core of M87 is a supermassive black hole with about 6.4×109 times the mass of the Sun (See related question)
An unusual galaxy with a definite shape is the spiral galaxy M87, which is notable for its prominent jet of energetic particles emitted from its supermassive black hole at the center. Unlike typical spiral galaxies, M87 has a more elliptical appearance due to its older star population and lacks significant spiral arms. This galaxy's unique features, including its size and the presence of the black hole, distinguish it within the realm of galaxies.
M87 is one of the most prominent galaxies followed by the elliptical galaxy Messier 49.
Messier 87 (M87) is a giant elliptical galaxy located about 53 million light-years away in the Virgo constellation. It has a diameter of approximately 120,000 light-years, making it one of the largest galaxies in the local universe. M87 is notable for its supermassive black hole at its center, which was famously imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope in 2019.
The elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87) is approximately 6.5 times more massive than the Milky Way. While the Milky Way has a mass estimated at about 1 trillion solar masses, M87's mass is estimated to be around 6.5 trillion solar masses. Additionally, M87 is larger in size, with a diameter roughly 2-3 times that of the Milky Way.
M32 - DwarfM49M59M60 (NGC 4649)M87 (NGC 4486) - SupergiantM89M105 (NGC 3379)Maffei 1, the closest giant elliptical galaxy.
The biggest mass in the universe is the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy M87, which is estimated to be about 6.5 billion times the mass of the sun.
Nothing. 'c' is the universal constant, the maximum velocity for all radiation in any field. Except for phenomina like the gas jet in galaxy M87 which the Hubble telescope has confirmed at significantly over 2.5 x light speed from our reference frame. This is because both the galaxy it is in and the cluster the galaxy is in are moving in the same direction.
The galaxy was actually,really,big.