The Virgo Cluster is the closest large cluster of galaxies to the Milky Way. With over a thousand known members, the cluster spans an area of the sky about 5 by 3 degrees in size. While some of the most prominent members can be seen in smaller instruments, a 6-inch telescope will reveal about 160 galaxies in this region on a clear night.
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Messier 59 (M59) is an elliptical galaxy located in the southern constellation Virgo. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 10.6. M59 lies at an approximate distance of 60 million light years from Earth. It has the designation NGC 4621 in the New General Catalogue.
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Messier 49 (M49) is an elliptical galaxy located in the southern constellation Virgo. The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 9.4 and lies at a distance of 55.9 million light years from Earth. It has the designation NGC 4472 in the New General Catalogue.
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Messier 33 (M33), also known as the Triangulum Galaxy, is a famous spiral galaxy located in the small northern constellation Triangulum. The Triangulum Galaxy is the third largest galaxy in the Local Group, after the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. It is also the second nearest spiral galaxy to the Milky Way and the smallest spiral galaxy in the Local Group.
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Messier 32 (M32), also known as Le Gentil, is a dwarf elliptical galaxy located in Andromeda constellation. The galaxy lies at a distance of 2.49 million light years from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.08. M32 is a satellite galaxy of M31, the famous Andromeda Galaxy. It has the designation NGC 221 in the New General Catalogue.
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Messier 31 (M31), better known as the Andromeda Galaxy, is a large spiral galaxy located in the constellation Andromeda. Lying at a distance of 2.54 million light years from Earth, the Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest major galaxy to our own. It is on a collision course with our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Messier 31 has an apparent magnitude of 3.44. Its designation in the New General Catalogue is NGC 224.
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