Messier 77 10 May 2013
Messier 77 is a Spiral Galaxy in the constellation Cetus. Cetus is known as the sea monster. This is an active galaxy and can be classified as a "Seyfert Galaxy." This object was discovered in 1780 and was at first thought to be a nebula. Charles Messier believed it to be a cluster. This is one of the largest galaxies listed as a M object. It is about 47 million light-years away and is 100 light-years across. It has a very distinct and bright core which has been the object of observation and study of many scientists. These scientists are interested in the core in particular because it is possible that it contains a black hole. This image uses the visible light and is based on data from Hubble. The red regions contain active star formation.
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