Messier 87

English

Messier 87 and one of its jets

Etymology

From being the 87th entry in Charles Messier's Messier catalogue of northern hemisphere nebulae and star clusters.

Proper noun

Messier 87

1. The central galaxy of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, which in turn is the central cluster of the Virgo Supercluster (Local Supercluster) of galaxies, which in turn is the local lobe of the Laniakea Supercluster. (The Earth, its Solar System, and our Milky Way Galaxy are contained within the Local Supercluster.)

Synonyms

• M87 (abbreviation)
• NGC 4486
• Virgo X-1
• Virgo A

Hypernyms

• Messier object
• central galaxy
• cluster galaxy
• galaxy

Derived terms

• M87 (abbreviation)
• Messier 87* (the central supermassive blackhole of Messier 87), M87*