Tour of M87
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M87 is a giant elliptical galaxy. At a distance of about 60 million light-years from Earth, M87 is the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster of some 2,000 galaxies. Bright jets moving at close to the speed of light are seen at nearly all wavelengths, powered by the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy. In X-rays, M87 shows evidence for a series of outbursts from the black hole. These outbursts appear as loops and bubbles in the data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The Hubble Space Telescope shows that the monstrous elliptical galaxy is also home to trillions of stars and thousands of globular clusters. Because of its proximity and brightness, as well as its intriguing properties, M87 is one of the most popular targets for amateur and professional astronomers alike.
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(Credit: (X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/W. Forman et al.; Radio: NRAO/AUI/NSF/W. Cotton; Optical: NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and R. Gendler)