Astr112 Photography Projects, Spring 2006

M100, Jeff DeKorne

M100 is a spiral galaxy and it is a member to the Virgo Cluster. It is also in the constellation Coma Berenice. This galaxy is very similar to the galaxy that we live in, the Milky Way. There are density waves near the center which cause the spiral form of the galaxy. This was first discovered by Lord Rosse in about 1850. Later it was found out to be a distance from the earth at about 60,000 light years.

In the center of this photo, the bulge is very bright. In this area there are many stars that make it bright. When we view this galaxy from earth, it is if we are seeing it almost "face-on." In this galaxy there are two big, bright blue arms and a few other smaller arms. These arms are younger stars that have a lot of mass and are very hot. They formed recently because of the near-by galaxies and their interactions. The arms are bright because there are many new stars forming in them. M100 has a visual brightness of 9.3 magnitude and has an angular size 7x6 or 104.712 degrees.

References

Absolute Astronomy

M100