{{Short description|Elliptical galaxy in the constellation Virgo}} {{Infobox Galaxy | name = Messier 59 | image = Messier59 - HST - Potw1921a.jpg | caption = Messier 59 taken by Hubble{{r|potw1921}} | epoch = J2000 | constellation name = Virgo<ref name="sinnott1988"/> | type = E5<ref name=King1966/> | ra = {{RA|12|42|02.322}}<ref name=Skrutskie2006/> | dec = {{DEC|+11|38|48.95}}<ref name=Skrutskie2006/> | dist_ly = {{Convert|15.35|Mpc|Mly|order=flip|abbr=on|lk=on}}<ref name=Tully2016/> | z = {{Val|430|13|u=km/s}}<ref name="ned" /> | appmag_v = 9.6{{r|seds}} | size_v = {{nowrap|5.4{{prime}} × 3.7{{prime}}}}<ref name="ned" /> | group_cluster = Virgo Cluster | mass = | half_light_radius_arcminsec = {{Val|46|u=arcsecond}}<ref name=Long2012/> | notes = | names = {{odlist | name = GC 3155 | NGC= 4621 | PGC= 42628 | UGC= 7858 | CGCG= 070-223 | MCG= +02-32-183}}<ref name="simbad"/> }}
'''Messier 59''' or '''M59''', also known as '''NGC 4621''', is an elliptical galaxy in the equatorial constellation of Virgo. It is a member of the Virgo Cluster, with the nearest fellow member {{Val|8|ul=arcminute}} away and around 5 magnitudes fainter. The nearest cluster member of comparable brightness is the lenticular galaxy NGC 4638, which is around {{Val|17|u=arcminute}} away.<ref name=Mizuno1996/> It and the angularly nearby elliptical galaxy Messier 60 were both discovered by Johann Gottfried Koehler in April 1779 when observing comet seeming close by. Charles Messier listed both in the Messier Catalogue about three days after Koehler's discovery.<ref name="jonesbook1991" />
This is an elliptical galaxy of type E5<ref name=King1966/> with a position angle of 163.3°,<ref name=Long2012/> indicating the overall shape shows a flattening of 50%.<ref name=Bergh1998/> However, isophotes for this galaxy deviate from a perfect ellipticity, showing pointed shapes instead. These can be decomposed mathematically into a three component model, with each part having a different eccentricity. The main elliptical component appears to be superimposed upon a flatter, disk-like feature, with the entirety embedded within a circular halo. The luminosity contribution of the components is 62% for the pure elliptical part, 22% for the halo, and the remainder coming from the disk. The light ratio of the disk to the main elliptical body is 0.25, whereas it is typically closer to 0.5 in a lenticular galaxy.<ref name=Mizuno1996/><ref name="Krajnović2004"/>
The core contains a supermassive black hole (SMBH), with a mass that has been estimated to be 270 million times the mass of the Sun,<ref name="Wrobel2008"/> and counter-rotates with respect of the rest of the galaxy, being bluer.<ref name="Wernli2001"/> The SMBH is quiescent, but is detectable as an X-ray and radio source that indicates an outflow.<ref name=Wrobel2008/> The nucleus contains an embedded stellar disk that is bluer (younger) than the bulge region, with a blue component stretching along a position angle of around 150°. This extended disk feature may be the result of a galactic merger followed by a starburst event.<ref name=Krajnović2004/>
Messier 59 is very rich in globular clusters, with a population of them that has been estimated to be around 2,200.<ref name="Harris1991"/> It has two satellites, the ultra compact dwarf galaxy M59-UCD3<ref name=Sandoval2015/> and M59cO, which is a rare example of a galaxy in between compact ellipticals such as Messier 32 and ultra compact dwarfs.<ref name="Chilingarian2008"/>
== Supernova == One supernova has been recorded in M59: '''SN 1939B''' (Type Ia, mag. 15) was discovered by Fritz Zwicky on 19 May 1939.{{r|CBAT-774}} It reached a peak magnitude of 11.9.<ref name=cbat/> The region where this supernova occurred shows no trace of star formation, which suggests this was a Type Ia supernova.<ref name=Perets2011/>
==See also== * List of Messier objects
==References== <references>
<ref name=seds>{{cite web |url=https://messier.seds.org/m/m059.html |title=Messier 59 |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=SEDS Messier Catalog}}</ref>
<ref name=potw1921>{{cite web |title=Bucking the trend |url=https://esahubble.org/images/potw1921a/ |website=ESA Hubble |access-date=27 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref>
<ref name="simbad">{{cite simbad | title=M 59 | access-date=2006-11-16 }}</ref>
<ref name=Tully2016>{{citation | last1=Tully | first1=R. Brent | last2=Courtois | first2=Hélène M. | last3=Sorce | first3=Jenny G. | display-authors=1 | title=Cosmicflows-3 | journal=The Astronomical Journal | volume=152 | issue=2 | id=50 | pages=21 | date=August 2016 | doi=10.3847/0004-6256/152/2/50 | bibcode=2016AJ....152...50T | arxiv=1605.01765 | s2cid=250737862 | postscript=. | doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name=Long2012>{{citation | title=Made-to-measure galaxy models – II. Elliptical and lenticular galaxies | last1=Long | first1=R. J. | last2=Mao | first2=Shude | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | volume=421 | issue=3 | pages=2580–2592 | date=April 2012 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20488.x | doi-access=free | postscript=. | bibcode=2012MNRAS.421.2580L | arxiv=1201.0951 | s2cid=118553296 }}</ref>
<ref name=Perets2011>{{citation | title=An Emerging Class of Bright, Fast-evolving Supernovae with Low-mass Ejecta | last1=Perets | first1=Hagai B. | last2=Badenes | first2=Carles | last3=Arcavi | first3=Iair | last4=Simon | first4=Joshua D. | last5=Gal-yam | first5=Avishay | display-authors=1 | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=730 | issue=2 | id=89 | pages=7 | date=April 2011 | doi=10.1088/0004-637X/730/2/89 | postscript=. | bibcode=2011ApJ...730...89P | arxiv=1008.2754 | s2cid=118665635 }}</ref>
<ref name=Bergh1998>{{citation | title=Galaxy Morphology and Classification | first1=Sidney | last1=Van den Bergh | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=1998 | isbn=978-0521623353 | page=47 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=geEVkpueEPcC&pg=PA47 }}</ref>
<ref name=King1966>{{citation | title=Some Properties of Elliptical Galaxies | last1=King | first1=I. R. | last2=Minkowski | first2=R. | journal=Astrophysical Journal | postscript=. | volume=143 | page=1002 | date=March 1966 | doi=10.1086/148580 | bibcode=1966ApJ...143.1002K }}</ref>
<ref name=Skrutskie2006>{{cite journal |doi=10.1086/498708 |last1=Skrutskie |first1=Michael F. |last2=Cutri |first2=Roc M. |last3=Stiening |first3=Rae |last4=Weinberg |first4=Martin D. |last5=Schneider |first5=Stephen E. |last6=Carpenter |first6=John M. |last7=Beichman |first7=Charles A. |last8=Capps |first8=Richard W. |last9=Chester |first9=Thomas |last10=Elias |first10=Jonathan H. |last11=Huchra |first11=John P. |last12=Liebert |first12=James W. |last13=Lonsdale |first13=Carol J. |last14=Monet |first14=David G. |last15=Price |first15=Stephan |last16=Seitzer |first16=Patrick |last17=Jarrett |first17=Thomas H. |last18=Kirkpatrick |first18=J. Davy |last19=Gizis |first19=John E. |last20=Howard |first20=Elizabeth V. |last21=Evans |first21=Tracey E. |last22=Fowler |first22=John W. |last23=Fullmer |first23=Linda |last24=Hurt |first24=Robert L. |last25=Light |first25=Robert M. |last26=Kopan |first26=Eugene L. |last27=Marsh |first27=Kenneth A. |last28=McCallon |first28=Howard L. |last29=Tam |first29=Robert |last30=Van Dyk |first30=Schuyler D. |last31=Wheelock |first31=Sherry L. |title=The Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) |journal=The Astronomical Journal |date=1 February 2006 |volume=131 |issue=2 |pages=1163–1183 |bibcode=2006AJ....131.1163S |s2cid=18913331 |issn=0004-6256 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="sinnott1988">{{cite book | title= The Complete New General Catalogue and Index Catalogue of Nebulae and Star Clusters by J. L. E. Dreyer | editor=R. W. Sinnott | date=1988 | isbn=978-0-933346-51-2 | publisher=Sky Publishing Corporation / Cambridge University Press }}</ref>
<ref name="ned">{{cite web | title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database | work=Results for NGC 4621 | url=http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/objsearch?objname=Messier+59&extend=no&hconst=73&omegam=0.27&omegav=0.73&corr_z=1&out_csys=Equatorial&out_equinox=J2000.0&obj_sort=RA+or+Longitude&of=pre_text&zv_breaker=30000.0&list_limit=5&img_stamp=YES | access-date=2006-11-18 }}</ref>
<ref name="jonesbook1991">{{cite book | author=K. G. Jones | date=1991 | edition= 2nd | title=Messier's Nebulae and Star Clusters | publisher=Cambridge University Press | isbn=978-0-521-37079-0 }}</ref>
<ref name=Wrobel2008>{{cite journal | title=Outflow-dominated Emission from the Quiescent Massive Black Holes in NGC 4621 and NGC 4697 | last1=Wrobel | first1=J. M. | last2=Terashima | first2=Y. | last3=Ho | first3=L. C. | display-authors=1 | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | volume=675 | issue=2 | pages=1041–1047 | date=March 2008 | doi=10.1086/527542 | arxiv=0712.1308 | bibcode=2008ApJ...675.1041W | s2cid=119208491 }}</ref>
<ref name="Wernli2001">{{cite journal | last1=Wernli | first1=F. | last2=Emsellem | first2=E. | last3=Copin | first3=Y. | display-authors=1 | title=A 60 pc counter-rotating core in NGC 4621 | journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics | volume=396 | pages=73–81 | year=2002 | bibcode=2002A&A...396...73W | arxiv=astro-ph/0209361 | doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20021333 | s2cid=18545003 }}</ref>
<ref name="Mizuno1996">{{cite journal | last1=Mizuno | first1=Takao | last2=Oikawa | first2=Ken-Ichi | title=Two-Dimensional Decomposition of a Disky Elliptical Galaxy, NGC 4621 | journal=Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japan | volume=48 | issue=4 | pages=591–600 | date=1996 | bibcode=1996PASJ...48..591M | doi=10.1093/pasj/48.4.591 | doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name="Krajnović2004">{{cite journal | last1=Krajnović | first1=D. | last2=Jaffe | first2=W. | title=HST observations of nuclear stellar disks | journal=Astronomy & Astrophysics | volume=428 | issue=3 | pages=877–890 | date=2004 | bibcode=2004A&A...428..877K | doi=10.1051/0004-6361:20040359 | arxiv=astro-ph/0409061 | s2cid=5237432 }}</ref>
<ref name="Harris1991">{{cite journal | last1=Harris | first1=William E. | title=Globular Cluster Systems in Galaxies Beyond the Local Group | journal=Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics | volume=29 | pages=543–579 | year=1991 | doi=10.1146/annurev.aa.29.090191.002551 | bibcode=1991ARA&A..29..543H | url=http://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Harris/Harris2.html#Table%201 | access-date=2012-07-21 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>
<ref name=Sandoval2015>{{cite journal | last1=Sandoval | first1=Michael A. | last2=Vo | first2=Richard P. | last3=Romanowsky | first3=Aaron J. | last4=Strader | first4=Jay | last5=Choi | first5=Jieun | last6=Jennings | first6=Zachary G. | last7=Conroy | first7=Charlie | last8=Brodie | first8=Jean P. | last9=Foster | first9=Caroline | last10=Villaume | first10=Alexa | last11=Norris | first11=Mark A. | last12=Janz | first12=Joachim | last13=Forbes | first13=Duncan A. | display-authors=1 | title=Hiding in plain sight: record-breaking compact stellar systems in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey | journal=The Astrophysical Journal | date=23 July 2015 | volume=808 | issue=1 | pages=L32 | doi=10.1088/2041-8205/808/1/L32 | arxiv=1506.08828 | bibcode=2015ApJ...808L..32S | s2cid=55254708 }}</ref>
<ref name="Chilingarian2008">{{cite journal | last1=Chilingarian | first1=Igor | last2=Mamon | first2=Gary A. | title=SDSSJ124155.33+114003.7 – a missing link between compact elliptical and ultracompact dwarf galaxies | journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | date=March 2008 | volume=385 | issue=1 | pages=L83–L87 | doi=10.1111/j.1745-3933.2008.00438.x | doi-access=free | arxiv=0712.2724 | bibcode=2008MNRAS.385L..83C | s2cid=119282741 }}</ref>
<ref name=cbat>{{cite web | title=List of Supernovae | publisher=IAU Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams | url=http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/lists/Supernovae.html }}</ref>
<ref name=CBAT-774>{{cite journal | last1= Adams | first1= Walter S. | last2= Zwicky | first2= F. | last3= Minkowski | url = http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/IAUCs/IAUC0774.jpg | title = SUPERNOVA IN NGC 4621 | editor= Strömgren, Elis | date = 7 June 1939 | journal = Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams | publisher = Observatory Copenhagen | issue = 774 | access-date = 26 November 2024 | page = 1}}</ref>
</references>
==External links== {{commonscat}} * [http://messier.seds.org/m/m059.html Elliptical Galaxy M59 @ SEDS Messier pages]{{WikiSky}}
{{Portal bar|Astronomy|Stars|Outer space}} {{Virgo}} {{Messier objects}} {{catalogs|M=59|NGC=4621|PGC=42628|UGC=7858|GC=3155}} {{Ngc50}} {{Sky|12|42|02.3|+|11|38|49|60500000}}
Messier 059 Messier 059 Messier 059 059 Messier 059 07858 042628 Category:Astronomical objects discovered in 1779 +02-32-183 Category:Discoveries by Johann Gottfried Köhler