Coma Cluster of Galaxies

At six times further away than the Virgo Cluster, the Coma Cluster is much less visually striking. However click on the lower image and it will be seen to contain over 700 cataloged galaxies. Looking closely reveals many more that are uncataloged. Some of these form obvious associations whose common reddish tinge suggests that they are clusters in their own right lying far beyond the Coma Cluster. Although difficult to pin down an exact value for the limiting magnitude, objects of at least visual magnitude 21 are clearly discernible which is 630,000 times fainter than the human eye can see and is only possible because of the dark skies that Eustis enjoys.

Prominent at the center of the image are the two supergiant elliptical galaxies, NGC 4889 (left) and NGC 4874. There is a foreground star that appears with similar brightness above NGC 4874. NGC 4889 is probably the largest and most massive galaxy within a radius of 100 megaparsecs of the Milky Way. It harbors the largest known supermassive black hole at an estimated at 21 billion solar masses or 5,200 times that of Sagittarius A*, the black hole that dwells at the heart of our own galaxy. Both NGC 4889 and NGC 4874 are surrounded by impressive entourages of globular clusters, hosting an estimated 15,800 and 18,700 respectively. Compare this to the Milky Way's paltry 150.

This image is a 3½ hour exposure taken in the morning hours March 25^th, 2023 through a 5 inch telescope from Eustis Ridge.