Messier 88

{{Infobox galaxy

| name=Messier 88

| image = 300px

| caption=Spiral Galaxy Messier 88

| epoch=J2000

| constellation name=Coma Berenices

| ra={{RA|12|31|59.2}}{{cite web

| title=Results for NGC 4501

| work=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database

| url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=Messier+88&img_stamp=yes

| publisher=California Institute of Technology

| access-date=2006-11-14

}}

| dec={{DEC|+14|25|14}}

| size_v={{nowrap|6.9 × 3.7 moa}}

| size = 131,250 ly (40.26 kpc) (estimated)

| appmag_v=9.6{{cite web |url=https://messier.seds.org/m/m088.html |title=Messier 88 |access-date=30 April 2022 |website=SEDS Messier Catalog}}

| type=SA(rs)b, H_II Sy2

| names=NGC 4501, UGC 7675, PGC 41517, VCC 1401

}}

Messier 88 (also known as M88 or NGC 4501) is a spiral galaxy about 50 to 60 million light-years away from Earth{{cite web|url=http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/001348.html|title=Object Information|date=20 September 2009|access-date=26 December 2012}}{{Cite APOD|title=Messier 88|date=30 January 2010|access-date=26 December 2012}}{{cite web|url=http://astropixels.com/galaxies/M88-01.html|title=M88|date=29 June 2011|access-date=26 December 2012}} in the constellation Coma Berenices. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781.

Properties

File:M88map.png

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.

{{cite journal

| author=Binggeli, B. | author2=Sandage, A. | author3=Tammann, G. A.

| date=1985

| title=Studies of the Virgo Cluster. II – A catalog of 2096 galaxies in the Virgo Cluster area

| journal=Astronomical Journal

| volume=90 | pages=1681–1759

| doi=10.1086/113874

| bibcode=1985AJ.....90.1681B

}} M88 appears to be on or ending a highly elliptical orbit, currently on an approximate or direct course toward the cluster center, which is occupied by the giant elliptical galaxy M87. It is currently 0.3 to 0.48 million parsecs from the center and will come closest to the core in about 200 to 300 million years. Its motion through the intergalactic medium of its cluster is creating, as expected, ram pressure that is stripping away the outer region of neutral hydrogen. To date, this has been detected along the western, leading edge of the galaxy.

{{cite journal

| author=Vollmer, B.

| date=2008

| title=Pre-peak ram pressure stripping in the Virgo cluster spiral galaxy NGC 4501

| journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics

| volume=483 | issue=1 | pages=89–106

| doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20078139

| bibcode=2008A&A...483...89V

| display-authors=1

| last2=Soida

| first2=M.

| last3=Chung

| first3=A.

| last4=Van Gorkom

| first4=J. H.

| last5=Otmianowska-Mazur

| first5=K.

| last6=Beck

| first6=R.

| last7=Urbanik

| first7=M.

| last8=Kenney

| first8=J. D. P.

|arxiv = 0801.4874 | s2cid=15005390

}}

This galaxy is inclined to the line of sight by 64°.

{{cite journal

| author=Tully, R. B. | author2=Fisher, J. R.

| date=1977

| title=A new method of determining distances to galaxies

| journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics

| volume=54 | issue=3 | pages=661–673

| bibcode=1977A&A....54..661T

}} It is classified as an Sbc spiral, a status between Sb (medium-wound) and Sc (loosely wound) spiral arms. The spiralling arms are very regular and can be followed down to the galactic core.

{{cite journal

| author=Möllenhoff, C. | author2=Heidt, J.

| date=2001

| title=Surface photometry of spiral galaxies in NIR: Structural parameters of disks and bulges

| journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics

| volume=368

| issue=1 | pages=16–37

| doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20000335

| bibcode=2001A&A...368...16M

| doi-access=free

}} The maximum rotation velocity of the gas is 241.6 ± 4.5 km/s.

{{cite web

| url=http://leda.univ-lyon1.fr/

| title=Database for physics of galaxies

| work=HyperLeda

| publisher=Université de Lyon

| access-date=2009-09-16

}}

M88 is classified as a type 2 Seyfert galaxy, which means it produces narrow spectral line emission from highly ionized gas in the nucleus.

{{cite book

| date=2007

| title=Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction

| publisher=Cambridge University Press

| isbn=978-0-521-67186-6

}} In the core region there is a central condensation with a 230 parsec diameter, which has two concentration peaks. This condensation is being fed by inflow from the spiral arms.

{{cite book

| date=2002

| chapter=CO (J=1-0) Observations of the Non-Barred Seyfert 2 Galaxy NGC 4501

| editor=Ikeuchi, S. | editor2=Hearnshaw, J. | editor3=Hanawa, T.

| title=Proceedings of the IAU 8th Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting

| pages=199 | bibcode=2002aprm.conf..199O

}} The supermassive black hole at the core of this galaxy has 10^7.9 solar masses, or about 80 million solar masses ({{solar mass}}).

{{cite journal

| author=Merloni, Andrea | author2=Heinz, Sebastian | author3=di Matteo, Tiziana|author3-link=Tiziana Di Matteo (astrophysicist)

| date=2003

| title=A Fundamental Plane of black hole activity

| journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

| volume=345 | issue=4 | pages=1057–1076

| doi=10.1046/j.1365-2966.2003.07017.x

|arxiv = astro-ph/0305261 |bibcode = 2003MNRAS.345.1057M | s2cid=14310323 }}

One supernova has been observed in M88: SN 1999cl (type Ia, mag. 16.4).[https://www.wis-tns.org/object/1999cl Transient Name Server entry for SN 199cl.] Retrieved 26 March 2023.

{{cite journal

| last=James | first=N. D.

| date=1999

| title=Supernova 1999cl in NGC 4501 (M88)

| journal=Journal of the British Astronomical Association

| volume=109 | issue=4 | pages=178

| bibcode=1999JBAA..109..178J

}}