M87 and Relativistic Jet

Photographer: Andrea Iorio
Summary Author: Andrea Iorio

M87 is a supergiant elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo found about 53 million light-years from Earth. It's believed to have an active supermassive black hole at its center that forms the primary component of an active galactic nucleus.

In 1947, a prominent radio source, Virgo A, was identified with errors in its measured position that overlapped the location of M87. A few years later, this source was confirmed to be M87. The linear relativistic jet emerging from the core of the galaxy extends at least 5,000 light-years from the nucleus and evidently consists of matter ejected from a supermassive black hole.

The above image shows M87 with its satellite galaxies. In the magnification, the relativistic jet of M87 is visible. This result was obtained with my amateur gear and by decreasing the brightness of the galaxy's core to emphasize the relativistic jet. Photo taken on May 4, 2024.

Photo and shooting details: Bortle skies - 7/8; ZWO ASI533MC Pro (gain 101, offset 40, -10°C); ZWO OAG & ASI 120MM for guiding; Tecnosky GSO RC6" f9; Skywatcher EQM-35 Pro-Optolong L-Pro filter. Total acquisition time of 3.5 hours.

 

Rome, Italy Coordinates: 41.8919300, 12.5113300

Related Link's:
The Relativistic Jet of M87
Andrea's Website