Journey to the Center of the Virgo Cluster

A large spiral galaxy. It is seen tilted at an angle, so that it is foreshortened and appears very wide. Its tightly-wound, blue spiral arms swirl out from its glowing center, spreading apart at the tips. They are followed by strands and clumps of dark red dust and spotted with pink dots where stars are forming in clouds of gas. The galaxy is surrounded by a slight glow and lies on a dark background.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the spiral galaxy Messier 88 (M88).

ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker

The focus of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image released on May 29, 2026, is an active spiral galaxy on a journey lasting hundreds of millions of years. The galaxy Messier 88 (M88), also known as NGC 4501, is located about 63 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices (Berenice’s Hair).

M88 is an active galaxy, which means that its center harbors a supermassive black hole that is snacking on gas and dust. Astronomers estimate the black hole is around 100 million times as massive as the Sun, and it appears to be powering outflows of gas from the galaxy’s center.

Learn more about M88.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker

Journey to the Center of the Virgo Cluster

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