M98 - Intermediate Spiral Galaxy in Coma Berenices

Messier 98 is an intermediate spiral galaxy of type SAB(s)ab located in the constellation Coma Berenices, and lies at a distance of approximately 44–50 million light-years. Seen almost edge-on (inclination around 74°), the galaxy spans roughly 9.8 × 2.8 arcminutes, corresponding to a physical diameter of up to ~150,000 light-years in some estimates. One of Messier 98’s most intriguing features is its approach toward the Milky Way: it exhibits a blueshift of about –140 km/s, which is unusual for a large galaxy and suggests it may be moving toward us within the dynamic environment of the Virgo Cluster. The galaxy also displays intense regions of young, blue stars toward its outskirts, illuminating pockets of star formation along dusty lanes and rippled disk structures. Discovered by Pierre Méchain on 15 March 1781 and cataloged by Charles Messier less than a month later.

This image was captured with Telescope Live’s CHI-1-CMOS system over 10 hours of LRGB integration.

Sources:

wikipedia.org

science.nasa.gov

www.deepskycorner.ch

messier-objects.com

Data credit: Telescope.Live