🔭 M61 — Swelling Spiral Galaxy

Galaxy in Virgo

M61, Swelling Spiral Galaxy is a galaxy in the constellation Virgo, with an apparent magnitude of about 9.7, roughly 52,500 thousand light-years away.

Data

Catalogue designation	M61
Common name	Swelling Spiral Galaxy
Object type	Galaxy
Constellation	Virgo
NGC / IC	NGC 4303
Apparent magnitude	9.7
Distance (approx.)	52,500 thousand light-years

What a galaxy is

A vast, gravitationally-bound system of stars, gas and dust — from small irregular collections to giant spirals containing a trillion suns. Most Messier galaxies are island universes far beyond the Milky Way.

Other Messier objects in Virgo: M49, M58, M59, M60, M84, M86, M87, M89, M90, M104.

Data: Messier catalogue & IAU constellations, via English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) · stored statically.