Right ascension 12 43 39.6 Redshift 0.003726 Distance (comoving) 16.8 ± 1.2 Mpc Magnitude 9.8 Apparent magnitude (V) 9.8 | Declination +11° 33′ 09″ Helio radial velocity 1117 ± 6 km/s Apparent mass ~1,000 billion M☉ | |
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Distance 55 ± 4 Mly (16.8 ± 1.2 Mpc) Similar Messier 50, Winnecke 4, Messier 55, Messier 70, Messier 65 | ||
Messier 60, also known as NGC 4649, is an elliptical galaxy approximately 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It is part of a pair of galaxies known as Arp 116 with NGC 4647.
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History
Messier 60 and the nearby galaxy Messier 59 were both discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in April 1779 during observations of a comet in the same part of the sky. Charles Messier listed both in the Messier Catalogue about three days after Koehler's discovery.
Overlapping galaxy NGC 4647
NGC 4647 appears approximately 2′.5 away from Messier 60; the optical disks of the two galaxies overlap. Although this overlap suggests that the galaxies are interacting, photographic images of the two galaxies do not reveal any evidence for gravitational interactions between the two galaxies as would be suggested if the two galaxies were physically close to each other. This suggests that the galaxies are at different distances and are only weakly interacting if at all. However, recent studies by the Hubble Space Telescope show indications that tidal interactions may have just begun. The pair together is collectively known as Arp 116 (APG 116).
Satellites
M60 has several satellite galaxies. One of them is the ultracompact dwarf galaxy M60-UCD1.
Virgo Cluster membership
M60 is the third-brightest giant elliptical galaxy of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, and is the dominant member of a subcluster of four galaxies, which is the closest-known isolated compact group of galaxies.
Supernovae
In 2004, supernova SN 2004W was observed in Messier 60.
Black Hole
At the center of M60 is a black hole of 4.5 billion solar masses, one of the largest ever found.