Messier 100 -

Messier 100

This photograph has been obtained by David Malin with the Anglo-Australian

telescope. It shows the majestic spiral galaxy, Messier 100 in the

Virgo Cluster, one of the finest spirals in this

diverse group, which is seen almost face-on to us.

We can clearly note the loose, fluffy nature of the regions rich in young

stars scattered along the spiral arms, an abundant feature in many spirals.

Astronomers call these regions flocculant. The lack of perfect symmetry

in its brightest features suggests that M100 has been disturbed by

gravitational interaction with its neighbors, as might be expected in a

galaxy-rich environment.

The galactic companions and neighbors of M100 are well visible in

Using special processing, David Malin has also provided

deep images of M100, revealing that this galaxy

is actually much larger than shown in the current image; this

implicates that a considerable amount of its matter is bound in low luminosity

stars.

This image was obtained from 3 photographic plates of different

emulsion/filter combinations. The red plate was exposed 35 minutes, the

green and blue 25 minutes each.

This images is copyrighted and may be used for private purpose

only. For any other kind of use, including internet mirroring and storing on

CD-ROM, please contact