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M84

NGC 4374

Elliptical galaxy in Virgo

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Proper Name	None
Messier Number	M84
NGC/IC Number	NGC 4374
Constellation	Virgo
Right Ascension	12h 25m 4s
Declination	+12° 53' 13"
Distance	c.40 million light years c. 12 million parsecs
Magnitude	Apparent: +9.3
Dimensions	Apparent: 5' x 4.4' Actual diameter: c.25,000 light years
Hubble Type	Elliptical class E1
Optimum Visibility	April
Notes	A relatively small galaxy of the lenticular type, shaped somewhat like a flattened disc, but with little active star formation. M84 lies in the inner regions of the great Virgo Cluster, and forms the western end of the string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain.

M84 lies at the heart of a group of thousands of galaxies that together form the Virgo Cluster. This map shows some of its more prominent neighbours, each of which represents millions or billions of individual stars.

An elliptical galaxy more than forty million light years from the Earth, part of the Virgo Cluster. Its diameter is roughly one quarter the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy.

M84 in the Virgo Cluster is an elliptical galaxy of the type known as lenticular. It has a flattened shape somewhat like that of a discus.

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