This is a photo of specifically Messier 86 which is one of the brightest galaxies of the Virgo Cluster Galaxies, and is situated close to the cluster's center. With well over a thousand members, the Virgo Cluster is the closest large cluster of galaxies. On average the cluster galaxies are measured to be about 50 million light-years away. M86 was discovered and cataloged by Charles Messier on March 18, 1781 when he also cataloged 7 more nebulous objects in the same region of the sky. This bright giant galaxy is either an elliptical of type E3 or a lenticular galaxy of type S01. M86 is the galaxy which has the fastest approaching velocity, and thus the highest blue shift, of all Messier galaxies.
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