M58

by Michael Feigenbaum

Objects in field: M 58, NGC 4579, IC 3604

Equipment: Celestron EdgeHD 9.25", ZWO ASI294MM Pro

Integration: 12h 23m 30s

Here we have my try at M58, a very beautiful nearly face-on spiral located in Virgo. This is the most distant of all Messier objects at about 62 million light years away. It has a radius of about 58,000 light years and contains something like 400 billion stars. It is somewhat unique in that it appears to have an "Ultra Compact Nuclear Ring" which is a small ring around the nucleus where starburst…