Messier 87

galaxy · black hole · space

Absolutely gigantic. Messier 87 is one of the largest galaxies we know of, containing several trillion stars. That's way more stars than our Milky Way galaxy has.

Monster jet. A powerful beam of super-hot energy shoots out from the galaxy's center at nearly the speed of light, stretching for thousands of light-years into space.

Star cities everywhere. This galaxy has about 15,000 globular clusters, which are dense groups of old stars orbiting the galaxy. The Milky Way only has 150 to 200 of these.

Bright radio beacon. Messier 87 is one of the brightest radio sources in the whole sky, making it easy for astronomers to spot and study with telescopes.

Popular target. Both amateur stargazers and professional astronomers love observing this galaxy because it's so impressive and has so much to teach us.