Image for M87*

M87*

M87, or Messier 87, is a giant elliptical galaxy located about 53 million light-years away in the Virgo constellation. It’s notable for containing a supermassive black hole at its center, which was famously imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope in 2019. This image was groundbreaking, as it provided visual evidence of black holes' existence. M87 is also known for its massive size, housing billions of stars, and for its active galactic nucleus, which emits powerful jets of energy. Its complexity makes it a key subject in studying galaxy formation and the evolution of the universe.

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  • Image for M87*

    M87* is a supermassive black hole located at the center of the galaxy M87, about 53 million light-years away from Earth. It became famous in April 2019 when the Event Horizon Telescope captured the first-ever image of its shadow against the surrounding glowing gas. This observation provided crucial evidence supporting the existence of black holes, as predicted by Einstein's theory of general relativity. M87* has a mass about 6.5 billion times that of our Sun, making it one of the largest known black holes, and its study helps scientists understand the nature of gravity and the behavior of matter in extreme conditions.