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Galaxy

Messier 59

Also M59 · NGC 4621

Open in OuranosCompare its size

An elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster.

Measured

Distance
50.1 million light-years
Size
about 80,000 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Virgo
Position (J2000)
RA 12h 42m 02s, Dec +11.65°

How far, from the Sun

50.1 million light-years. To cross it:

  • Light50.1 million years
  • Voyager 1's speed890 billion years
  • Driving at 100 km/h540 trillion years

Voyager 1 at the speed it moved outward over the year to 2026-10-25 (JPL Horizons). Driving: nonstop, never refuelling.

Facts

  • It lies less than half a degree from Messier 60 on the sky.
  • It is moving away from us at about 470 km/s (NASA/IPAC NED).

Where this comes from

  • Cosmicflows-3, Tully, Courtois & Sorce 2016, AJ 152, 50 (15.35 Mpc)
  • This research has made use of the SIMBAD database, CDS, Strasbourg, France (Wenger et al. 2000, A&AS 143, 9).
  • This research has made use of the VizieR catalogue access tool, CDS, Strasbourg, France (DOI: 10.26093/cds/vizier).

Every catalogue Ouranos draws is credited on the credits page.