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

This Chandra image shows the M87 jet as seen in X-ray wavelengths. [NASA/CXC/MIT/H. Marshall et al.]

This document was last modified: October 24, 2005.