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Virgo Cluster

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Template:Short description Template:Galaxy cluster The Virgo Cluster is a cluster of galaxies whose center is 53.8 ± 0.3 Mly (16.5 ± 0.1 Mpc)<ref name="Mei2007">Template:Cite journal</ref> away in the Virgo constellation. Comprising approximately 1,300 (and possibly up to 2,000) member galaxies,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the cluster forms the heart of the larger Virgo Supercluster, of which the Local Group (containing the Milky Way galaxy) is a member. The Local Group actually experiences the mass of the Virgo Supercluster as the Virgocentric flow. It is estimated that the Virgo Cluster's mass is 1.2Template:E Template:Solar mass out to 8 degrees of the cluster's center or a radius of about 2.2 Mpc.<ref name="Fouquéetal2001">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Many of the brighter galaxies in this cluster, including the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87, were discovered in the late 1770s and early 1780s and subsequently included in Charles Messier's catalogue of non-cometary fuzzy objects. Described by Messier as nebulae without stars, their true nature was not recognized until the 1920s.Template:Refn

The cluster extends across approximately 8 degrees centered in the constellation Virgo. Some of its most prominent members can be seen with binoculars and small telescopes, while a 6-inch telescope will reveal about 160 of the cluster's galaxies on a clear night. Its brightest member is the elliptical galaxy Messier 49.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

CharacteristicsEdit

The cluster is a fairly heterogeneous mixture of spiral and elliptical galaxies.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Template:As of, it is believed that the spiral galaxies of the cluster are distributed in an oblong prolate filament, approximately four times as long as it is wide, stretching along the line of sight from the Milky Way.<ref name="Fukugitaetal1993">Template:Cite journal</ref> The elliptical galaxies are more centrally concentrated than the spiral galaxies.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The cluster is an aggregate of at least three separate subclumps: Virgo A, centered on M87, a second centered on the galaxy M86, and Virgo B, centered on M49, with some authors including a Virgo C subcluster, centered on the galaxy M60 as well as a Low Velocity Cloud (LVC) subclump, centered on the large spiral galaxy NGC 4216.<ref name=Boselli2014>Template:Cite journal</ref> The giant elliptical galaxy M87 contains a supermassive black hole, whose event horizon was observed by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration in 2019.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Virgo A is the dominant subclump; its mass of approximately 1014 Template:Solar mass is approximately ten times larger than the other two subclumps.<ref name=BinggeliNED>The Virgo Super Cluster: home of M87 (with frames)</ref> It contains a mixture of elliptical, lenticular, and spiral galaxies which are generally gas-poor,<ref name=Chamaraux1980>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:14-296-GalaxyClusters-PerseusVirgo-ChandraXRay-20141027.jpg
Turbulence may prevent galaxy clusters from cooling (Chandra X-ray).

The three subgroups are in the process of merging to form a larger single cluster,<ref name=BinggeliNED/> and are surrounded by other smaller galaxy clouds, mostly composed of spiral galaxies, known as N Cloud, S Cloud, and Virgo E that are in the process of infalling to merge with them,<ref name="Gavazzietal1999">Template:Cite journal</ref> plus other farther isolated galaxies and galaxy groups (like the galaxy cloud Coma I) that are also attracted by the gravity of Virgo to merge with it in the future.<ref name="Tully1984">Template:Cite journal</ref> This strongly suggests the Virgo cluster is a dynamically young cluster that is still forming.<ref name=Gavazzietal1999/>

Nearby aggregations known as M Cloud, W Cloud, and W' Cloud seem to be background systems independent of the main cluster.<ref name=Boselli2014/><ref name=Gavazzietal1999/>

The large mass of the cluster is indicated by the high peculiar velocities of many of its galaxies, sometimes as high as 1,600 km/s with respect to the cluster's center.

The Virgo cluster lies within the Virgo Supercluster, and its gravitational effect slows down the nearby galaxies. The large mass of the cluster has the effect of slowing down the recession of the Local Group from the cluster by approximately ten percent.

Molecular gasses in Virgo Cluster has been swept away by a huge cosmic broom that is preventing nearby galaxies from birthing new stars. The actual cause of it has been a long standing mystery in astrophysics. According to scientists, it occurs because of the extreme environment of the Virgo Cluster.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Intracluster mediumEdit

As with many other rich galaxy clusters, Virgo's intracluster medium is filled with a hot, rarefied plasma at temperatures of 30 million kelvins that emits X-Rays.<ref name="Lea1982">Template:Cite journal</ref> Within the intracluster medium (ICM) are found a large number of intergalactic stars<ref name="HST1997">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> (up to 10% of the stars in the cluster),<ref name=Fergusonetal1998/> including some planetary nebulae.<ref name="Feldmeieretal1998">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is theorized that these were expelled from their home galaxies by interactions with other galaxies.<ref name="Fergusonetal1998">Template:Cite journal</ref> The ICM also contains some globular clusters,<ref name="Takamiya2009">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Durrell2010">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Park2010">Template:Cite journal</ref> possibly stripped off dwarf galaxies,<ref name=Park2010/> and even at least one star formation region.<ref name="Ortwin2002">Template:Cite journal</ref>

GalaxiesEdit

File:Virgosupercluster atlasoftheuniverse.gif
Map of the Virgo Supercluster centered on the Local Group (image diameter 200 Mly ≈ 60 Mpc). The Virgo Cluster is visible in the center right of the image, at about 50 Mly from the Local Group.
File:Virgo cluster 052012 overlay.jpg
Photograph of the Virgo Cluster with labelled galaxies

Below is a table of bright or notable objects in the cluster and their subcluster. In some cases a galaxy may be considered to be in a different subcluster by other researchers (sources:<ref name=Boselli2014/><ref name=Gavazzietal1999/><ref name="GOLDMine">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="VirgoAtlas">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>)

Column 1: The name of the galaxy.
Column 2: The right ascension for epoch 2000.
Column 3: The declination for epoch 2000.
Column 4: The blue apparent magnitude of the galaxy.
Column 5: The galaxy type: E=Elliptical, S0=Lenticular, Sa,Sb,Sc,Sd=Spiral, SBa,SBb,SBc,SBd=Barred spiral, Sm,SBm,Irr=Irregular.
Column 6: The angular diameter of the galaxy (arcminutes).
Column 7: The diameter of the galaxy (thousands of light years).
Column 8: The recessional velocity (km/s) of the galaxy relative to the cosmic microwave background.
Column 9: Subcluster where the galaxy is located.
Cluster members
Designation Coordinates (Epoch 2000) Apparent
magnitude
(blue) 		Type Angular size Diameter
(kly) 		RV
(km/s) 		Subcluster
RA Dec
Messier 98 12 13.8 14 54 10.9 SBb 9.8′ 150 184 Virgo A or N Cloud
NGC 4216 12 15.9 13 09 10.9 SBb 7.9′ 120 459 Virgo A, N Cloud, or LVC.
Messier 99 12 18.8 14 25 10.4 Sc 5.4′ 80 2735 Virgo A or N Cloud
NGC 4262 12 19.5 14 53 12.4 S0 1.9′ 30 1683 Virgo A
NGC 4388 12 25.5 12 39 11.8 SAb 6.2′ 85 2845 Virgo A
Messier 61 12 21.9 04 28 10.2 SBbc 6.2′ 100 1911 S Cloud
Messier 100 12 22.9 15 49 10.1 SBbc 7.6′ 115 1899 Virgo A
Messier 84 12 25.1 12 53 10.1 E1 6.0′ 90 1239 Virgo A
Markarian's Chain
Messier 85 12 25.4 18 11 10.0 S0 7.1′ 105 1056 Virgo A
Messier 86 12 26.2 12 57 9.9 E3 10.2′ 155 37 Virgo A or own subgroup.
Markarian's Chain
NGC 4435 12 27.7 13 05 11.7 S0 3.0′ 45 1111 Virgo A
NGC 4438 12 27.8 13 01 11.0 Sa 8.7′ 130 404 Virgo A
NGC 4450 12 28.5 17 05 10.9 Sab 5.1′ 80 2273 Virgo A
Messier 49 12 29.8 08 00 9.3 E2 9.8′ 150 1204 Virgo B
Messier 87 12 30.8 12 23 9.6 E0–1 9.8′ 980 1204 Virgo A
Messier 88 12 32.0 14 25 10.3 Sb 6.8′ 100 2599 Virgo A
NGC 4526 12 32.0 07 42 10.6 S0 7.1′ 105 931 Virgo B
NGC 4527 12 34.1 02 39 12.4 Sb 4.6′ 69 1730 S Cloud
NGC 4536 12 34.4 02 11 11.1 SBbc 7.2′ 115 2140 S Cloud
Messier 91 12 35.4 14 30 11.0 SBb 5.2′ 80 803 Virgo A
NGC 4546 12 35.5 −03 48 11.3 S0 2.3' 30 1054 S Cloud
NGC 4550 12 35.5 12 13 12.5 S0 3.2′ 50 704 Virgo A
Messier 89 12 35.7 12 33 10.7 E0 5.0′ 75 628 Virgo A
NGC 4567 12 36.5 11 15 12.1 Sbc 2.8′ 40 2588 Virgo A
NGC 4568 12 36.6 11 14 11.7 Sbc 4.4′ 65 2578 Virgo A
Messier 90 12 36.8 13 10 10.2 SBab 10.5′ 160 87 Virgo A
NGC 4571 12 36.9 14 13 11.9 Sc 3.7′ 55 659 Virgo A
Messier 58 12 37.7 11 49 10.6 SBb 5.6′ 85 1839 Virgo A
Messier 59 12 42.9 11 39 10.8 E5 5.0′ 75 751 Virgo A or Virgo E
Messier 60 12 43.7 11 33 9.8 E2 7.2′ 110 1452 Virgo A, Virgo E, or Virgo C
NGC 4651 12 43.7 16 24 11.4 Sc 4.0′ 60 1113
NGC 4654 12 43.9 13 08 11.1 SBc 5.0′ 75 1349 Virgo A

Fainter galaxies within the cluster are usually known by their numbers in the Virgo Cluster Catalog, particularly members of the numerous dwarf galaxy population.<ref name="vcc">Template:Cite journal</ref>

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

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External linksEdit

Template:Sky Template:Virgo Supercluster Template:Earth's location Template:Virgo

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