Also found in the constellation of Virgo is a
spiral galaxy known as M90. This is one of the larger spiral
galaxies in the Virgo cluster. It is located about 60 million
light-years from Earth and is approaching us at a speed of 383
km/sec. Its visual appearance is that of a tightly wound spiral
with smooth, bright spiral arms. It is believed that the only
active star formation is taking place within the dark dust lanes
near the center of the galaxy. M90 has a visual magnitude of
only 9.5, making it a tough target for binocular observers.
Large telescopes will provide the best viewing.
