Editing Virgo (constellation) (section)

=== Deep-sky objects ===
[[File:M104 ngc4594 sombrero galaxy hi-res.jpg|thumb|The [[lenticular galaxy]] [[Sombrero Galaxy]]]]

[[File:Black hole - Messier 87 crop max res.jpg|thumb|The shadow of the central black hole in the galaxy [[Messier 87]] in Virgo, obtained by the [[Event Horizon Telescope]] collaboration. This is the first direct image of a black hole.]]

Because of the presence of a [[galaxy cluster]] (consequently called the [[Virgo Cluster]]) within its borders 5° to 12° west of ε Vir (Vindemiatrix), this constellation is especially rich in [[galaxy|galaxies]].

Some examples are [[Messier 49]] ([[elliptical galaxy|elliptical]]), [[Messier 58]] ([[spiral galaxy|spiral]]), [[Messier 59]] (elliptical), [[Messier 60]] (elliptical), [[Messier 61]] (spiral), [[Messier 84]] ([[lenticular galaxy|lenticular]]), [[Messier 86]] (lenticular), [[Messier 87]] (elliptical and a famous [[astronomical radio source|radio source]]), [[Messier 89]] (elliptical) and [[Messier 90]] (spiral). A noted galaxy that is not part of the cluster is the [[Sombrero Galaxy]] (M104), an unusual spiral galaxy. It is located about 10° due west of Spica.

[[NGC 4639]] is a face-on [[barred spiral galaxy]] located {{val|78|ul=Mly}} from Earth (redshift 0.0034). Its outer arms have a high number of [[Cepheid variable]]s, which are used as [[standard candle]]s to determine astronomical distances. Because of this, astronomers used several Cepheid variables in NGC 4639 to calibrate [[type Ia supernova]]e as standard candles for more distant galaxies.<ref name="objects"/>

Virgo possesses several galaxy clusters, one of which is [[HCG 62]]. A [[Hickson Compact Group]], HCG 62 is at a distance of {{val|200|ul=Mly}} from Earth ([[redshift]] 0.0137) and possesses a large central elliptical galaxy. It has a heterogeneous halo of extremely hot gas, posited to be due to the [[active galactic nucleus]] at the core of the central elliptical galaxy.<ref name="objects">{{cite book |title = 300 Astronomical Objects: A Visual Reference to the Universe |last1=Wilkins |first1=Jamie |last2=Dunn |first2 = Robert |publisher = Firefly Books |year = 2006 |edition = 1st |location=Buffalo, New York |isbn = 978-1-55407-175-3}}</ref>

[[Messier 87|M87]] is the largest galaxy in the Virgo cluster, and is at a distance of {{val|60|u=Mly}} from Earth (redshift 0.0035). It is a major radio source, partially due to its jet of electrons being flung out of the galaxy by its central [[supermassive black hole]]. Because this jet is visible in several different wavelengths, it is of interest to astronomers who wish to observe black holes in a unique galaxy.<ref name="objects"/> On April 10, 2019, astronomers from the [[Event Horizon Telescope]] project released an image of its central black hole; the first direct image of one.<ref name=EHT2019>{{cite magazine |author= Jeffrey, K. |date=10 April 2019 |title=These Are the First Pictures of a Black Hole — And That's a Big, Even Supermassive, Deal |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=https://time.com/5566225/first-black-hole-picture-photo/ |access-date=30 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="NYT-20190410a">{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Black Hole Picture Revealed for the First Time – Astronomers at last have captured an image of the darkest entities in the cosmos – Comments |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/10/science/black-hole-picture.html?comments#permid=31473598 |date=10 April 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=30 December 2020}}</ref><ref name="NASA-20190410">{{cite news |last=Landau |first=Elizabeth |title=Black Hole Image Makes History |url=https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7372 |date=10 April 2019 |publisher=[[NASA]] |access-date=30 December 2020 }}</ref> With a mass of at least 7.2 billion times that of the Sun, it is the most massive black hole within the immediate vicinity of the Milky Way.<ref name="oldham2016">{{cite journal |author=Oldham, L. J. |author2=Auger, M. W. |title= Galaxy structure from multiple tracers - II. M87 from parsec to megaparsec scales |date=March 2016|journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |volume=457 |issue=1 |pages= 421–439|doi=10.1093/mnras/stv2982|doi-access=free |arxiv=1601.01323 |bibcode=2016MNRAS.457..421O |s2cid=119166670 }}
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[[Messier 84|M84]] is another elliptical [[radio galaxy]] in the constellation of Virgo; it is at a distance of {{val|60|u=Mly}} (redshift 0.0035) as well. Astronomers have surmised that the speed of the gas clouds orbiting the core (approximately {{val|400|u=km/s}}) indicates the presence of an object with a mass 300 million times that of the sun, which is most likely a [[black hole]].<ref name="objects"/>

The [[Sombrero Galaxy]], M104, is an edge-on spiral galaxy located 28 million light-years from Earth (redshift 0.0034). It has a [[bulge (astronomy)|bulge]] at its center made up of older stars that are larger than normal. It is surrounded by large, bright [[globular clusters]] and has a very prominent [[dust lane]] made up of [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]].<ref name="objects"/>

[[NGC 4438]] is a [[peculiar galaxy]] with an [[active galactic nucleus]], at a distance of {{val|50|u=Mly}} from Earth (redshift 0.0035). Its supermassive black hole is ejecting [[Astrophysical jet|jets]] of matter, creating bubbles with a diameter of up to {{val|78|u=ly}}.<ref name="objects"/>

[[NGC 4261]] also has a black hole {{val|20|u=ly}} from its center with a mass of 1.2 billion solar masses. It is located at a distance of {{val|45|u=Mly}} from Earth (redshift 0.0075), and has an unusually dusty disk with a diameter of {{val|300|u=ly}}. Along with M84 and M87, NGC 4261 has strong emissions in the [[radio spectrum]].<ref name="objects"/>

Virgo is also home to the [[quasar]] [[3C 273]] which was the first quasar ever to be identified. With a magnitude of ~12.9, it is also the optically brightest quasar in the sky.