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A bright sphere at image center becomes more diffuse and elliptical moving outward from the sphere. One bright foreground stars shines just in the upper-left quadrant of the image. Background stars shine through the galaxy.
Hubble · Messier 49 · ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Blakenslee, P Cote et al.

Messier 49

Galaxy in Virgo · 56 million light-years

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TypeGalaxy
ConstellationVirgo
Right ascension12h 29m 47s
Declination+8° 00′
Object distance56 million light-years
Apparent magnitude8.3
Apparent size10.2′ (arc-minutes)
Approx. true diameter166,155 light-years across
Also known asM49 · NGC 4472
Messier 49 is a galaxy (also catalogued as NGC 4472) in the constellation Virgo — an island of billions of stars far beyond our own Milky Way. It was recorded by Charles Messier in his famous catalogue of 110 deep-sky objects. It spans roughly 10.2 arc-minutes on the sky. At about magnitude 8.3, it shows up well in a small backyard telescope.

Although it appears about 10.2′ wide on the sky, its real span is roughly 166,155 light-years — the difference is a measure of how far away it lies.

Observing Messier 49

Messier 49 lies in the constellation Virgo and is best placed in the evening sky around March. Its maximum altitude above the horizon depends on your latitude. Lying near the celestial equator, it can be seen from both hemispheres. A small backyard telescope will show it; binoculars may hint at it under dark skies. Note that the listed magnitude is spread across the whole object — diffuse galaxies and nebulae are often harder to see than the number alone suggests, so dark, moonless skies help a great deal.

See Messier 49 in Universe Finder

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Sources

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