M88, discovered by Charles Messier in 1791, is a 9.6 mag bright member of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies with an apparent size of 6.8 x 3.7 arc min. With an estimated distance of 60 million light years, the galaxys real diameter is about 130'000 light years.
The object in the upper right corner is the irregular galaxy IC 3476 and the bright galaxy in the lower right corner is NGC 4516 with a brightness of 13.3 mag.
Date: 03/18/2012
Size:
Image Data
Telescope: RCOS 14.5" f/8
Mount: ASA DDM85
Detector: Apogee U16M
Filters: Astrodon Gen 2
Exposures: L:R:G:B 560:140:140:120 min (20 min subs)
Observatory: ROSA, France