APOD: The Outskirts of M77

M77, also known as NGC1068, is a spiral galaxy like our Milky Way. Like the Andromeda galaxy, M77 is fairly close only 60 light-years away and is far bigger than our own galaxy. It is over 100 light-years across. M77 is about the same distance as the Virgo Cluster, a clustering of nebulae and galaxies in Virgo, but it is rapidly moving away from us at 1100 km/sec. It's own gases and clouds is moving away from its center at 100km/sec. This rapid movement shows that the galaxy is fueled by an enormous energy source. Scientists have found massive black holes in it's core. The galaxy is massive-the cores mass is about 27 billion solar masses while the whole galaxy is about 1 trillion solar masses.

The picture is of the galaxy is a visible light image with enhanced data to show the subtle arms and other details.