Galaxy
St. Catherine's Wheel
Spiral galaxy · M99 · NGC 4254
Spiral galaxy in Coma Berenices
Photo: Ole Nielsen · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Messier 99 or M99, also known as NGC 4254, the Coma Pinwheel Galaxy, or St. Catherine's Wheel, is a grand design spiral galaxy in the northern constellation Coma Berenices approximately 15,000,000 parsecs from the Milky Way. It was discovered by Pierre Méchain on 17 March 1781. The discovery was then reported to Charles Messier, who included the object in the Messier Catalogue of comet-like objects. It was one of the first galaxies in which a spiral pattern was seen. This pattern was first identified by Lord Rosse in the spring of 1846.
Description from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
In your sky
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Key facts
Distance
~44.7–55.7 million light-years
Apparent mag.
+9.9
Apparent size
5.4′ × 4.7′
Best seen with
Telescope
Catalogue
M99 · NGC 4254
Did you know
- Listed as Messier 99 in the Messier catalogue, also known as NGC 4254.
- Found in the constellation Coma Berenices.
- Needs a telescope to see clearly.
