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Observing Messier 87 (M87)
Messier 87 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that contains several trillion stars. One of the largest and most massive galaxies in the local universe, it has a large population of globular clusters, about 15,000 compared with the 150-200 orbiting the Milky Way, and a jet of energetic plasma that originates at the core and extends at least 1,500 parsecs, traveling at a relativistic speed.
What Messier 87 is
Messier 87 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo that contains several trillion stars. One of the largest and most massive galaxies in the local universe, it has a large population of globular clusters, about 15,000 compared with the 150-200 orbiting the Milky Way, and a jet of energetic plasma that originates at the core and extends at least 1,500 parsecs, traveling at a relativistic speed. It is one of the brightest radio sources in the sky and a popular target for both amateur and professional astronomers.
How to observe it
This is a fainter target that rewards aperture and dark skies. A 150 mm or larger telescope from a site away from town lights shows it best, and averted vision helps.
It lies in the constellation Virgo. To find it, learn the constellation first, then star-hop from its brighter stars with a finder or a wide-field eyepiece before switching to more magnification.
Magnification is your telescope's focal length divided by your eyepiece's focal length. For an extended object like this, start low to frame it, then step up in power only if the object takes it. Use the Fit My Telescope tool to see the exact magnification, true field and exit pupil each of your eyepieces gives.
How it looks at the eyepiece
What you see at the eyepiece is fainter and less colourful than a photograph, because the eye takes in light in an instant while a camera builds it up over minutes. Expect a grey glow rather than the vivid colours of an image, and let your eyes dark-adapt for at least twenty minutes to see the most.
Frame it at low to medium power first with a wide true field, then step up the magnification only if the object stays sharp and the sky is steady. The Fit My Telescope tool shows the magnification, true field of view and exit pupil each of your eyepieces gives in your telescope, so you can pick the one that frames the object best.
The object in NASA imagery
NASA has imaged this object. One example in the NASA Image and Video Library is titled Spitzer Captures Messier 87, from JPL.
This image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows the elliptical galaxy Messier 87 (M87), the home galaxy of the supermassive black hole recently imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT). Spitzer's infrared view shows a faint trace of a jet of material spewing to the right of the galaxy - a feature that was previously one key indicator that a supermassive black hole lived at the galaxy's center.
NASA imagery is in the public domain. What you see through an eyepiece is fainter and mostly grey, since the eye does not accumulate light the way a long-exposure camera does, but knowing an object's true shape helps you recognise it at the telescope.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Object type | elliptical galaxy |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Apparent magnitude | 8.6 |
| Catalogue | Messier 87 (M87) |
Object data from Wikidata (CC0) and standard Messier catalogues.
What magnification suits M87?
Open the Fit My Telescope toolSee the true field and exit pupil each eyepiece givesFind telescope eyepiece on eBayaffiliateRelated
Sources: Messier 87 (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA) · Wikidata (CC0) · NASA Image and Video Library: PIA23122 (public domain)