About This Image
A month ago (May 2026) I had a window to target this galaxy pair in Coma Berenices with my C11 Hyperstar setup. I was hoping for more integration time but the skies didn't cooperate — 5 hours is what I managed to collect. More data on the wish list when conditions allow. M88 (NGC 4501) is a grand-design spiral galaxy located about 47 million light-years away, spanning roughly 130,000 light-years across — nearly identical in size and structure to our own Milky Way. It's one of the brightest members of the Virgo Cluster and shows beautifully defined spiral arms with notable dust lane detail. M91 (NGC 4548) is a barred spiral galaxy sitting a little farther out at around 60 million light-years. At roughly magnitude 11.0, it holds the distinction of being one of the faintest and most elusive objects in the entire Messier catalog — a fitting challenge for any imager. The two galaxies make a striking pair in the same field of view, separated by their vastly different distances yet appearing close together in the sky.
🔭 Equipment
👤 Astro Imager
🔭 See It in the Sky
Explore where M88 & M91 (NGC 4501 & NGC 4548) sits in the night sky and compare it with professional survey images. Drag to move, scroll or pinch to zoom.
Sky atlas: Aladin Lite, CDS, Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, France. Survey imagery © the respective survey teams.
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