Observation by Alan Thomas: M87 Virgo A with Jet!

Uploaded by

Alan Thomas

Observer

Alan Thomas

Observed

2022 Feb 11 - 05:01

Uploaded

2022 Feb 12 - 15:38

Objects

M87

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Constellation

Virgo

Field centre

RA: 12^h30^m
Dec: +12°23'
Position angle: +20°10'

Field size

0°10' × 0°10'

Equipment

Unistellar eQuinox 112mm reflector

Exposure

10min.

Location

Norbreck Observatory, Warrington, Cheshire, UK.

Target name

M87 Virgo A

Title

M87 Virgo A with Jet!

About this image

This remarkable object, a supergiant elliptical galaxy with about 200 times the mass of the Milky Way, is a member of the Virgo Cluster. It hosts a population of at least 12,000 globular clusters, is a potent source of radio, X-ray and gamma ray emissions, and extends a jet of gaseous material from its core about 5,000ly long.

Much to my surprise, this image appears to show the root of the gaseous jet - at least, the extension of the disk seems to be in the right position (north is at the top). With an aperture of 112mm, 10 minutes exposure and largely auto-image processing, this is an unexpected result if this interpretation is correct.

Discovered by Messier in March 1781, M87 lies c.54 million ly from us. Diameter c.120,000 ly. Absolute mag. c.-22.

Files associated with this observation

eVscope-20220211-050137 (2).jpg (183.1 kB)

Like this image

David Basey, Dr Paul Leyland

Comments

Dr Paul Leyland, 2022 Feb 15 - 19:50 UTC

I'm quite sure that is the jet.

Alan Thomas

Alan Thomas, 2022 Feb 16 - 18:36 UTC

Thanks, Paul. Good to know. It certainly is a fascinating object.

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