M86 = NGC4406 ( 12h 26.2m +12°57´, 9.2 mag. )


This elliptical galaxy in Virgo was discovered by Messier on March 18, 1781 next to M84. It is located 1°15' NW of M87 (see Virgo Cluster Map and the detailed chart below). At 55 million ly away, it is near the centre of Virgo Cluster and spans 140,000 ly across.

The above image was taken on December 18, 1998 from Sooke, BC. Cookbook 245 LDC CCD camera was used on Celestron Ultima 8 f6.3 telescope autoguided with Cookbook 211 LDC CCD camera on piggybacked 500mm f8 telephoto lens. Six white integrations (240 sec. each) were processed with AIP4WIN.

North is to the right.


Map created in Guide 7.0 - 2° x 3°. North is up.


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© Jan Wisniewski