Type

Supermassive

Location

In the constellation Virgo

Distance

75 million light-years (23 megaparsecs)

Mass

300 million times the mass of the Sun

Size

Diameter equal to the diameter of Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun

Discovery Methods

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

NGC 4342

A ground-based view of NGC 4342.

A composite of X-ray (blue) and infrared (red) views of NGC 4342. The infrared shows the disk of gas and dust, while the X-rays show superhot gas around the galaxy. The X-ray gas also traces the presence of invisible dark matter.

This document was last modified: February 22, 2013.