Messier 85 and NGC 4394 in Coma Berenices
April 2024 - Picture of the Month
Just below the centre of this image we can see a 10.5 magnitude star, and above and to the right is the main subject of this article: Messier 85 (NGC 4382).
This galaxy's morphology lies somewhere between elliptical and lenticular, perhaps in transition between the two types. It's populated by mostly elderly red stars, but there's a population of much younger stars near its central region. This may be connected to a merger event, and the outer regions of this galaxy are very disturbed, as shown in David's image. Another notable feature of Messier 85 is that direct star velocity measurements indicate that it completely lacks a central massive black hole, yet indirect methods suggest a black hole of substantial mass.
Messier 85 is also disturbed by its interactions with another galaxy shown on this image directly below the core of Messier 85: the small elliptical MCG 3-32-28. To the left is the beautiful spiral of NGC 4394, and IC 3292 is also visible on the extreme right of the frame. These two are likely companion galaxies, although they may not be interacting. This group lies about 55–60 million light-years from us.
As you can see, these galaxies make a nice group for an image, but they're also easily visible in smaller telescopes. Even I logged some clear observations of the main pair, Messier 85 and NGC 4394, from my garden with a 130mm (roughly 5 inch) Newtonian telescope.
James Whinfrey - Website Administrator.
