Virgo Galaxy (M87) Position and Visibility Tonight
Where is Virgo Galaxy right now?
Twilight begins at 18:06 local time, and at that moment, M87 will appear at an altitude of 4 degrees toward the northwest.
M87 Visibility on March 11
M87 Rise and Set Timetable
| Time | Elevation | |
| M87 rise | 17:44 | |
| Astrosession begin | 18:37 | 10° |
| M87 transit | 00:22 | 65° |
Moon Rise, 53.9% illuminated  | 00:47 | 64° |
| Astrosession end | 03:57 | 36° |
| Civil sunrise | 04:58 | 24° |
| Sunrise | 05:25 | 19° |
| M87 set | 06:59 | |
| Moon Set | 09:51 | -29° |
Track M87 Position Throughout the Night
← Wed, 11 March 2026 →
| Time | |
| Altitude | |
| Azimuth |
M87 - Virgo A
M87 is a giant elliptical galaxy located in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. M87 is one of the largest and most massive galaxies in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies.
M87 spans about 240,000 light-years across and contains a massive population of old stars. The galaxy is approximately 53 million light-years away from Earth and has an apparent magnitude of 8.6, making it visible with a small telescope.
M87 Image Gallery
DSS Blue
DSS Red
DSS Near-Infrared
DSS Composite image
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 M87
| Object name | M87 |
| Field of view | |
| Limiting magnitude | |
| M87 coordinates | 12.51373, 12.39111 |
| Center coordinates | 12.51373, 12.39111 |
M87 Passage Through Night
Current position of M87
| Time | 08:35 |
| Latitude | 37.3541 |
| Longitude | -121.955 |
| M87 elevation | -17° |
| M87 Azimuth | 59° |
Annual motion of M87
M87 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.
| Date | Wed, 11 March 2026 |
| Twighlight start | 18:32 |
| Twighlight end | 03:52 |
| Twighlight duration | 9h 20m |
| Rise | 17:44 |
| Set | 06:59 |
| Elevation at transit | 65° |
| Transit time | 00:22 |
| Equatorial coordinates | RA: 12h 30m 49s", Dec: 12° 23' 27s |
| Magnitude | 9 |
| Constellation | Virgo |
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 M87 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.
You can also view detailed visibility information in a dedicated table, including exact rise, transit, and set times for each date.
Astrometric & Physical Parameters of M87
Coordinates & Visibility
| Right Ascension | 12.51373° |
| Declination | 12.39111° |
| Magnitude | 9.00 |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Elevation | -16.8° |
| Azimuth | 59.1° |
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.