Virgo Cluster

The cluster is a fairly heterogeneous mixture of spiral and elliptical galaxies. The giant elliptical galaxy M87 contains a supermassive black hole, whose event horizon was observed by the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration in 2019. Virgo A is the dominant subclump; its mass of approximately 1014 is approximately ten times larger than the other two subclumps. It contains a mixture of elliptical, lenticular, and spiral galaxies which are generally gas-poor, may prevent galaxy clusters from cooling (Chandra X-ray). The three subgroups are in the process of merging to form a larger single cluster, 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. This strongly suggests the Virgo cluster is a dynamically young cluster that is still forming. == Intracluster medium ==

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. Within the intracluster medium (ICM) are found a large number of intergalactic stars (up to 10% of the stars in the cluster), It is theorized that these were expelled from their home galaxies by interactions with other galaxies. The ICM also contains some globular clusters, possibly stripped off dwarf galaxies, == Galaxies ==

(image diameter 200 Mly ≈ 60 Mpc). Most of the Virgo Supercluster, including Virgo Cluster, is visible in the center right of the image, at about 50 Mly from the Local Group. 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:) :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. Fainter galaxies within the cluster are usually known by their numbers in the Virgo Cluster Catalog, particularly members of the numerous dwarf galaxy population. ==See also==