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Messier 99 (NGC 4254) is an SA(s)c-class, nearly face-on galaxy located 46 Mly away from us in the constellation Coma Berenices. M99 shows a slightly asymmetrical structure due, most probably, to an ongoing gravitational interaction with the neutral hydrogen cloud VIRGOHI21. This cloud may have lots of dark matter and shows no stars, but it is considered to contain a small, diffuse, dark galaxy. This galaxy recedes from us at over 2,400 km/s, being the Messier object with the highest redshift. Although it has a similar size compared with our Milky Way, M99 has only 5 % of its mass.
Additional Information
Object
Name(s): Messier 99. M99. NGC 4254
Type: Spiral Galaxy Class SA(s)c
RA: 12h 18m 50s
Dec: +14º 24’ 59”
Constellation: Coma Berenices
Size (arcmin): 5.5×5.0 arc min
Magnitude: +10.4
Distance: 46 Mly
Image
Date: 2022-01-29 to 2022-02-09
Location: Curiosity2 Observatory, New Mexico Skies, Mayhill, NM, USA
Size (arcmin): 24×20 arcmin
Telescope: 24” (61 cm) f/6.5 Reflector
Camera: FLI PL16803 (4096x4096pix)
Guiding: Astrodon MonsterMOAG off-axis guider
Total exposure: 18 hours (L: 7.3h; RGB: 10.75h)
Processing: CCDStack, Photoshop CC 2022