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Galaxy

Messier 89

Also M89 · NGC 4552

Open in OuranosCompare its size

An elliptical galaxy in the Virgo Cluster that looks almost perfectly round.

Measured

Distance
51.7 million light-years
Size
about 104,000 light-years across (approximate)
Constellation
Virgo
Position (J2000)
RA 12h 35m 40s, Dec +12.56°

How far, from the Sun

51.7 million light-years. To cross it:

  • Light51.7 million years
  • Voyager 1's speed919 billion years
  • Driving at 100 km/h558 trillion years

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

Facts

  • Faint shells and plumes around it are the leftovers of smaller galaxies it swallowed.
  • It is moving away from us at about 340 km/s (NASA/IPAC NED).

Where this comes from

  • Cosmicflows-3, Tully, Courtois & Sorce 2016, AJ 152, 50 (15.85 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.