M49, NGC 4472

An elliptical galaxy of type E1 in the constellation Virgo, M49 is a perhaps less well known member of the Virgo Cluster, which contains M87, M86 and M84, amongst others. Nearly spherical, it has almost no gas or dust between its stars and shows no evidence of recent star formation. It is about 60 million light-years away and about 50000 light-years across. KPNO 4-meter Mayall telescope, 1975. We also have a newer color image from the KPNO 0.9-m telescope.