Eastern Portion of the Virgo B Subcluster (George Simon)

Eastern Portion of the Virgo B Subcluster

Displayed in this image is the eastern portion of the Virgo B subcluster of galaxies, which is more or less centered on M49, the giant elliptical galaxy on the right side of the image. Virgo B is part of the larger Virgo Cluster, which is itself part of the Virgo Supercluster, which includes our Local Group of galaxies.

M49 is the most luminous member of the Virgo Cluster. It contains a supermassive black hole estimated at 565 million solar masses. M49 has an estimated 5,900 globular clusters, averaging about 10 billion years old. (The Milky Way, by comparison, has about 200 globular clusters.) Interacting with M49 is the dwarf irregular galaxy UGC 7636 (the small blue "blob" to the lower left of M49). Studies suggest that the interaction between these two galaxies has triggered strong star formation in UGC 7636, and has caused a tidal stream of stars stretching from the dwarf galaxy toward M49. This feature is dimly perceptible in my image.

The barred spiral galaxy prominently visible in the upper left-hand portion of the image is NGC 4535. In the 1950s, amateur astronomer Leland S. Copeland dubbed this galaxy "The Lost Galaxy," reportedly due to its hazy, indistinct appearance when observed visually. "Hazy" and "indistinct" describe about 95% of the galaxies I have observed visually, so I would love to know what distinguished this galaxy for Copeland.

The large lenticular galaxy in the lower lower left-hand portion of the image is NGC 4526. This galaxy appears to be abnormally poor in dark matter, and has a central black hole of about 450 million solar masses.

All of the galaxies of the Virgo B subcluster lie about 55 million light years from the Solar System.

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Description: I removed some residual gradient from the right side of the image.

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Eastern Portion of the Virgo B Subcluster

Eastern Portion of the Virgo B Subcluster

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Eastern Portion of the Virgo B Subcluster

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