M87

FAIL2 FAIL3 

Alternate Names

NGC 4486, Virgo A

Type

Supermassive

Location

in the constellation Virgo

Finder Chart

Distance

50 million light-years (16.1 megaparsecs)

Mass

6.6 billion times the mass of the Sun

Size

Three times the diameter of Pluto's orbit around the Sun

Discovery Methods

• Measuring the motions of gas
• Measuring the motions of stars

Animation of suspected M87 black hole. [NASA/CXC/A.Hobart]

This document was last modified: October 24, 2005.