While we are embedded in our Milky Way Galaxy and view its spiral arms arching over our skies year round, we are also part of a Local Group of galaxies. The Local Group is dominated by the Andromeda Galaxy, and our Milky Way. The Local Group is part of the larger group though, the Virgo Supercluster of Galaxies, with galaxies numbering in the thousands. Some of this mind-boggling, gravitationally-bound conglomeration of "island universes" is visible to us in binoculars and telescopes, primarily around March each year in and around the ancient constellation Virgo.
The anchor galaxy in the Virgo Supercluster appears to be the giant elliptical catalogued as Messier 87, Virgo A, NGC 4486 and known colloquially as M87. At a distance of approximately 53 million light years, it subtends 7.2x6.8 arc-minutes size. Its physical size is best compared to our Milky Way to obtain some relevance. M87's diameter is 132,000 light years and contains trillions of stars, including over 1,500 globular clusters. The Milky Way Galaxy is around 87,400 light years in diameter and has around 200 globular clusters among 200-400 billion stars. The M87 galaxy will be visible in 50mm binoculars or any telescope, a glowing oval shining at a bright apparent magnitude of 8.6.
Virgo Cluster Messier Objects
Bright galaxies abound in this cluster between Gamma Virginis, the great open cluster Melotte 111 in Coma Berenices, and Leo's back haunches near Denebola. Virgo contains eleven galaxies included in Charles Messier's now famous list of objects that were "not" comets. Instead, they are examples of the brightest and most detailed deep sky targets in our part of our universe. Scan the area and you literally can't avoid coming across several. Better still, Orion's Deep Map 600 shows them all, making their locations easy to get to. And there is no need to stop at eleven objects in this target rich area. Many galaxies found in the Herschel Catalogue are found here as well ? bright and easy ones!
Feel this is still not enough? Try Markarian's Chain within the Virgo Cluster and close to M87's location.
Chart Showing Markarian's Chain Anchored By M84/M86
This favorite is an awe-inspiring sweep of nearly a dozen galaxies, with bright Messier's M84 and M86 dominating one end, sweeping in a gentle arc over several degrees. Needless to say, the larger your telescope the more you'll see. The general Virgo Cluster environment comprises thousand of galaxies, and hundreds are within reach of amateur telescopes.
