M60, NGC 4649

M60 is a large elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo, being about 120000 light-years across. It stands out in even small telescopes due to the proximity of the late-type spiral NGC4647 (to the NW), but such apertures may only see the central brighter regions, making M60 look considerably smaller. M60 has a large system of faint globular clusters, many thousands being visible in deep pictures: more than a few can be seen here. M60 is a member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, which is the dominant cluster in our Local Supercluster and about 60 million light-years away. This picture was taken in April 1998 at the KPNO 0.9-meter telescope. The Virgo cluster also includes Messier galaxies M49, M58, M59, M61, M84, M85, M86, M87, M88, M89, M90, M91, M98, M99, and M100.