Virgo Supercluster (Galaxies)

 Download Full Resolution (4620x3096) 1618KB 8,259

'Virgo Supercluster (Galaxies)'

Virgo Supercluster (Galaxies)

[Public Domain] 11 May 2015 Dylan O'Donnell
CATEGORY : Astrophotography
8,260 others viewed this post.

Lately I’ve been posting pretty “showy”, visually compelling nebulas. This image is not perhaps as visually impressive as it is conceptually mind blowing.

Using long exposures in the constellation of Virgo, a whole local group of distant galaxies is revealed. Normally in starry photos you see nice distinct pinpoint stars. But if you look closely at the full resolution version of this image, you’ll see galaxy, after galaxy, after galaxy. I counted 45+ little “fuzzies” in there.. including spirals, and spiral bar galaxies and ones seen from the side. M87 is the brightest and “The Eyes”, a pair of galaxies slowing ripping each other apart in a cosmic gravitational dance. Also check out M88 in the top left corner.

Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 1.03.30 pm Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 1.03.22 pm Screen Shot 2015-05-11 at 1.03.10 pm

I ran the image through nova.astrometry.net (an online astronomy identification tool) and it annotated and named many of the galaxies in the image. I’ve included it here also out of interest.

VIRGOCLuSTER-ASTROMETRY

 Download Full Resolution (4620x3096) 1618KB


More Astrophotography ...

LDN1622 - Bogeyman Nebula
Astrophotography
Sunrise on Clavius Crater
Astrophotography
Helix Nebula
Astrophotography
IC 4685 - Bow and Arrow Nebula
Astrophotography
M20 Trifid Nebula
Astrophotography
The Dragon's Egg NGC 6164
Astrophotography
Lavender NGC 3324 "Gabriela Mistral" Nebula
Astrophotography
6% Moon with Earthshine.
Astrophotography
TWO GALAXIES KISSING - NGC 4038 & 4039
Astrophotography
M42 Orion's Misty Peaks
Astrophotography
M78 Dark Nebula
Astrophotography
NGC3576 - "Statue of Liberty" Nebula
Astrophotography
Henize N70 Superbubble Nebula
Astrophotography
Thor's Helmet - NGC 2359
Astrophotography
SH2-279 - Orion's Little Brother
Astrophotography
Lunar Eclipse Totality (HDR) November 2022
Astrophotography
M16 - Eagle Nebula
Astrophotography
M20 Trifid Nebula
Astrophotography
NGC6188 - The Krakken (Nebula)
Astrophotography
Thackeray's Globules in IC2944
Astrophotography
The Jaguar in the Rose (NGC 2238 Detail)
Astrophotography
Horsehead Nebula (IC434) & VdB 52
Astrophotography
The Horsehead Nebula (B33, IC434 & Alnitak)
Astrophotography
NGC 2070 - Tarantula Nebula
Astrophotography
Astrophotography Archives ...