M87*
Where is M87*?
Below the horizon after dark tonight in Virgo. Rises 05:26.
- Rises
- 05:26
- Highest
- 12:36
- Sets
- 19:42
- Best after dark
- —
Can I see M87*?
No. A black hole gives off no light of its own that you could see. What you can do is look toward it.
From London tonight, the direction of M87* isn’t above the horizon while the sky is dark. It rises at 05:26 and sets at 19:42, in daylight or twilight.
When is it highest?
Its part of the sky is highest in the evening, around 10 pm, in April.
It crosses the meridian, its highest point, at 12:36, 51° up, in daylight or twilight. Times for London.
What can you see in this direction?
M87* lies in Messier 87, a galaxy of mag 9.0. That’s what you can look for.
Eyes
Direction onlyNothing visible.
Binoculars
Under dark skies, the host galaxy M87 is a faint smudge among other Virgo galaxies.
Telescope
The host galaxy M87 is visible as a round glow with a bright center. The black hole itself can’t be seen with any backyard telescope.
About
M87* is the supermassive black hole at the heart of the giant galaxy M87, about 55 million light-years away in Virgo. It has about 6.5 billion times the mass of the Sun.
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope collaboration released the first image of a black hole’s shadow, and it was this one. The ring of light in the image is hot gas swirling around the black hole.
The black hole powers a jet of particles that shoots out of the galaxy at nearly the speed of light and stretches for thousands of light-years. It has been given the Hawaiian name Pōwehi.
The black hole’s shadow is tiny as seen from Earth, about as small as a doughnut on the Moon would look from here. Later observations showed the ring’s polarized light, tracing magnetic fields around the black hole.
Visible nearby
Questions
Can I see M87*?
Is the black hole image a photograph?
Sources: SkyMate; star chart: Wikidata (CC0). Positions computed for your place and time with astronomy-engine. Data & Licences