Messier 77

This majestic spiral galaxy has an intensely active core.

Distance

45 million light-years

Apparent Magnitude

9.6

constellation

Cetus

object type

Spiral Galaxy

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of spiral galaxy Messier 77 — a galaxy in the constellation of Cetus, some 45 million light-years away from us. The streaks of red and blue in the image highlight pockets of star formation along the pinwheeling arms, with dark dust lanes stretching across the galaxy’s starry centre. The galaxy belongs to a class of galaxies known as Seyfert galaxies, which have highly ionised gas surrounding an intensely active centre.

NASA, ESA & A. van der Hoeven

Initially identified as a nebula by the French astronomer Pierre Méchain in 1780, M77 is one of the largest galaxies in the Messier catalog. It is located in the constellation Cetus at a distance of 45 million light-years from Earth. M77 has an apparent magnitude of 9.6 and can be seen using a small telescope. It is most easily observed during December.

This ultraviolet image from Hubble probes the bright, active core of M77. Brightness fluctuations in this region imply that an enormous amount of energy is being released from a hidden source in the galaxy’s nucleus. The most likely candidate is a supermassive black hole.

NASA, ESA

Hubble has captured this vivid image of M77’s center using visible and infrared observations. The streaks of red and blue in the image highlight pockets of star formation along the pinwheeling arms, with dark dust lanes wrapping around the galaxy’s starry center.

M77 is a prime example of a Seyfert galaxy, or a galaxy with an intensely active center that is obscured by gas and dust in visible light.

For more information about Hubble’s observations of M77, see:

This star chart for M77 represents the view from mid-northern latitudes for the given month and time.

Image courtesy of Stellarium

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