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Sky-Tonight.com / Nebulae / M60

M60 Observation Details

M60 Daily Motion

M60 will be visible until July, 27, when it will move too close to the Sun. During this time, its proximity to the Sun will cause it to disappear from the night sky, making it unobservable for a while.

M60 Rise and Set Timetable

	Time	Elevation
M60 Rise	02:33
Astrosession begin	04:26	22°
Astrosession end	06:21	43°
Civil sunrise	06:55	49°
Sunrise	07:25	53°
M60 transit	09:11	62°

Track M60 Position Throughout the Night

Time
Altitude
Azimuth

Shift the map to change the time and observe M60 changing position in the night sky.

M60 - Elliptical Galaxy

M60 is an elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in 1779 and later cataloged by Charles Messier. M60 is one of the brightest and largest elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies.

M60 spans about 120,000 light-years across and contains a massive population of old stars. The galaxy is approximately 55 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 9.8, making it visible with a small telescope.

M60 Image Gallery

DSS Blue

These images are valuable for highlighting the presence of younger, hotter stars, which emit more light in the blue wavelengths.

DSS Red

These images are excellent for detecting older, cooler stars, as well as emission nebulae, which glow primarily in the red due to hydrogen alpha emissions.

DSS Near-Infrared

M60 photo taken with Near-Infrared filter

These images can penetrate dust clouds that obscure visible light, revealing structures and objects hidden within.

DSS Composite image

DSS Color images are composite images created by combining the blue, red, and often near-infrared images to produce a full-color representation.

The photos are taken from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2), which was produced at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) under NASA contract, using data from the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the National Geographic Society-Palomar Observatory Sky Survey (POSS II).

Special thanks to the National Optical Astronomy Observatory (NOAO), the Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, and the California Institute of Technology for their significant contributions.

Finder Chart for M60

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Object name	M60
Field of view
Limiting magnitude
M60 coordinates	12.72777, 11.55269
Center coordinates	12.72777, 11.55269

M60 Passage Through Night

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Current position of M60

Time	04:26
Latitude	39.9625
Longitude	-83.0061
M60 elevation	22°
M60 Azimuth	-93°

Here you can see the current position of the M60 on the map, as well as its positions for rise and set. This tool allows you to track the M60's movement throughout the night, providing you with accurate and up-to-date information.

Annual motion of M60

Date	Fri, 22 November 2024
Twighlight start	18:42
Twighlight end	05:44
Twighlight duration	11h 2m
Rise	02:29
Set	15:45
Elevation at transit	62°
Transit time	09:07
Equatorial coordinate	RA: 12h 43m 39s, Dec: 11° 33' 09"
Magnitude	9
Constellation	Virgo

The graph illustrates the annual visibility pattern of a M60, providing a comprehensive overview of its daily appearances and transit times throughout the year.
The graph is structured with the vertical axis showing the hours of the day, ranging from 12 AM to 12 AM the next day, while the horizontal axis spans each day of the year.
The reddish shaded area indicates the periods when the M60 is above the horizon, visible to observers. The white line marks the times when the celestial object reaches its highest point in the sky each day, known as the transit.

Data Credits

The nebulae information on this page is sourced from the OpenNGC project, developed by Matteo Verga. OpenNGC provides detailed data on the NGC catalog, which is a valuable resource for exploring deep-sky objects such as nebulae.

For more details or to contribute to OpenNGC, visit the official GitHub repository: OpenNGC on GitHub.

Observation Settings