M49, NGC 4472

An elliptical galaxy of type E4 in the constellation Virgo, M49 is one of the many members of the Virgo Cluster. This short exposure picture shows the smooth mostly featureless structure typical of elliptical galaxies. This picture was taken in December 1996 at the KPNO 0.9-meter telescope: we also have a deep black and white image from the KPNO Mayall 4-m telescope. The Virgo cluster also includes Messier galaxies M58, M59, M60, M61, M84, M85, M86, M87, M88, M89, M90, M91, M98, M99, and M100.