Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Virgo (Vir)  ·  Contains:  M 61  ·  NGC 4292  ·  NGC 4301  ·  NGC 4303
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Messier 61, Roberto Marinoni
Messier 61
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Messier 61, Roberto Marinoni
Messier 61
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Description

Messier 61 belongs to the Virgo Cluster and lies at a distance of 50 million light years.
Its angular size of 6.5’x8.5’ corresponds to a maximum disc diameter of 95000 light years.
The galaxy shows itself with an inclination of 25°, allowing to view the spiral pattern: this is dominated by two arms which join onto a bar structure in the inner region.
Several HII regions are visible on the arms.
[Text adapted from “The Cambridge Photographic Atlas of Galaxies”]

Two others bright galaxies are visible in the image: NGC 4301 (in the top right side) and NGC 4292 (in the bottom right side).
Several other remote galaxies are visibile in the background.

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