[M90, Bill Keel] [PNG]

Lowell Observatory image of M90

The smooth-armed spiral galaxy Messier 90 (NGC 4569) in the core of the Virgo galaxy cluster, shown in a three-color reconstruction from BVR CCD frames taken with the 1.1-meter Hall telescope at Lowell Observatory. The bright unresolved nucleus is especially prominent; it shows spectral features indicating a fading burst of star formation. The nucleus looks so starlike that it has at times been taken to be a foreground star and ignored during measurements of the galaxy's redshift (actually blueshift in this case, since M90 is orbiting rapidly enough within Virgo to overcome the Hubble velocity we would normally observe).

Credit: Bill Keel, University of Alabama.

  • This image was featured as Astronomy Picture of the Day March 16, 1996
  • More Messier images from Bill Keel's collection

    [M90, AOP/KPNO Visitor Center]
    Click for full-size image

    Spiral galaxy M90, one of the large spirals of the Virgo Cluster. As can be seen in this color image, the outer arms of M90 are very smooth and devoid of star formation, as there are no bright pinkish H II regions visible. Near M90, to the left, companion galaxy IC 3583 is visible, which is notably distorted by its larger neighbor. This image was obtained by by Gary and Jeri Siegelman when participating in the Kitt Peak Visitor Center's Advanced Observing Program, with the AOP's Meade 16in LX200 telescope operating at f/6.3, and SBIG ST8E CCD camera with color filter wheel. It is a composite of four CCD images: Luminance = 48 min, Red = 20 min, Green = 20 min, and Blue = 40 min, which was processed by Adam Block.
    Credit: Gary and Jeri Siegelman/Adam Block/AURA/NOAO/NSF

  • Adam Block's M90 page with more info on this image
  • More images from the Advanced Observer Program

  • Amateur images of M90

    Hartmut Frommert (spider@seds.org)
    Christine Kronberg (smil@lrz.uni-muenchen.de)

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    Last Modification: 19 Jul 2000, 14:10 MET