The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an amazing new photo of the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 105.
This new image from Hubble shows an elliptical galaxy called Messier 105. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / C. Sarazin et al.
Messier 105 lies in the constellation Leo, approximately 36.6 million light-years from Earth.
The galaxy was discovered by French astronomer Pierre Méchain — Charles Messier’s friend and colleague — on March 24, 1781, just a few days after he discovered the nearby galaxies Messier 95 and Messier 96.
Yet Messier 105 was not originally included in Messier’s catalog. It was added in 1947 after American astronomer Helen Sawyer Hogg found a letter written by Méchain describing the galaxy.
Also known as M105, LEDA 32256 and NGC 3379, Messier 105 is the largest elliptical in the Messier catalog that is not a member of the Virgo cluster of galaxies.
The galaxy does, however, belong to the M96 (or Leo I) Group, which includes Messier 95 and 96 as well as several other fainter galaxies. Messier 105 is also the brightest elliptical galaxy within this group.
Hubble observations show that stars near Messier 105’s center are moving very rapidly.
Astronomers think that these stars are zooming around a supermassive black hole with an estimated mass of 200 million solar masses.
This gigantic black hole releases huge amounts of energy as it consumes matter falling into it and causing the center to shine far brighter than its surroundings.
Hubble also surprised astronomers by revealing a few young stars and clusters in Messer 105, which was thought to be a ‘dead’ galaxy incapable of star formation.
Messier 105 is now thought to form roughly one Sun-like star every 10,000 years.
Astronomers also spotted star-forming activity in a vast ring of hydrogen gas encircling both Messier 105 and its closest neighbor, the lenticular galaxy NGC 3384.
