Messier 88 (also known as M88 or NGC 4501) is a spiral galaxy about 50 to 60 million light-years away from Earth in the
constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781.
M88 is one of the fifteen Messier objects that belong to the nearby Virgo Cluster of galaxies.
It is galaxy number 1401 in the Virgo Cluster Catalogue (VCC) of 2096 galaxies that are candidate members of the cluster.
This galaxy is inclined to the line of sight by 64°. It is classified as an Sbc spiral, a status between
Sb (medium-wound) and Sc (loosely wound) spiral arms.
The spiral arms are very regular and can be followed down to the galactic core.
Captured on 04-01-2021 with my Explore Scientific 102mm Triplet APO Refractor telescope, Bisque ME Mount, QHY 183C Cooled Cmos Camera, 180min exposure, (36 x 300sec subs), SkyX Camera capture software, PHD2, DSS, Pixinsight, & Adobe CS 2021.
Best Regards,
John Chumack
