The constellation Cetus is the location of a
beautiful spiral galaxy known as M77. This is one of the largest
galaxies in the Messier catalog. The brightest parts of this
galaxy measure about 120,000 light-years in diameter, but its
fainter extensions bring it out to a total of 170,000
light-years. This galaxy is believed to be located around 60
million light-years from Earth and is receding from us at a
whopping 1100 km/sec. Visually, it appears as a large spiral
with broad structured arms. At a magnitude of 8.8, it can easily
be located with a pair of binoculars on a good night. Large
telescopes will reveal some of the more intricate details in
this galaxy.
