M59, NGC 4621

An elliptical galaxy of type E5 in the constellation Virgo, M59 is one of the many members of the Virgo Cluster. Although smaller than the giant ellipticals M49, M60, and above all M87 M87, it is by no means of negligible size. This picture shows the smooth mostly featureless structure typical of elliptical galaxies: it is a combination of B (25 minutes), V (14 minutes) and R (10 minutes) exposures from the KPNO 0.9m telescope in December 1996 and April 1998. The Virgo cluster also includes Messier galaxies M49, M58, M60, M61, M84, M85, M86, M87, M88, M89, M90, M91, M98, M99, and M100.