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elliptical galaxy

What is M87 / Virgo A?

Giant elliptical galaxy, home to the first black hole ever directly imaged (2019).

Worth knowing about M87 / Virgo A

You see M87 / Virgo A as it was about 55 million years ago.

Why it stands out
Home to the first black hole ever directly imaged, in 2019 (6.5 billion solar masses); also shoots a near-light-speed particle jet about 5,000 light-years long.
How we know: A worldwide network of radio telescopes (the Event Horizon Telescope) combined signals into an Earth-sized “virtual telescope” sharp enough to photograph the black hole’s shadow.
What it is
A giant elliptical galaxy, one of the largest and most massive in the nearby universe.
Its name and its story
It lies in Virgo, and is also called Virgo A because it is the brightest radio source in that constellation.
M87 / Virgo A — A model, seen from the Earth, with north up.
The numbers
Across131,500 light-years
Distance from usabout 55 million light-years
How big it looksabout 8.2 arcminutes — the full Moon is about 30

We use about 55 million light-years, the distance the Event Horizon Telescope used for its picture of the black hole (16.8 megaparsecs). A 2025 compilation of measurements gives 53.13 million.

How anyone knows this

Things like it

Centaurus A (NGC 5128)elliptical galaxyBinocularsNGC 4993elliptical galaxyBeyond a 150 mm telescopeThe Milky Wayspiral galaxyNaked eyeThe Andromeda Galaxy (M31)spiral galaxyNaked eyeThe Triangulum Galaxy (M33)spiral galaxyBinocularsThe Large Magellanic Cloudirregular galaxyNaked eye

Games it appears in

Show M87 / Virgo A in the model🧭 Where is M87 / Virgo A?🕒 When can I see M87 / Virgo A?📖 How the galaxies fit together🌙 Plan an evening outside