Messier 85

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title: "Messier 85" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["lenticular-galaxies", "virgo-cluster", "coma-berenices", "messier-objects", "ngc-objects", "ugc-objects", "principal-galaxies-catalogue-objects", "astronomical-objects-discovered-in-1781", "discoveries-by-pierre-méchain"] description: "Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices" topic_path: "science/astronomy" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_85" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox Galaxy"]

Field	Value
image	Messier85 - HST - Potw1905a.jpg
caption	Galaxy Messier 85 by Hubble Space Telescope
name	Messier 85
epoch	J2000
type	SA(s)0+ pec{{cite web
title	NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database
work	Results for Messier 85
url	http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=M+85&extend=yes&out_equinox=J2000.0
access-date	2006-11-18
}}/E2<ref name	"Kormendy2009" /
ra
dec
dist_ly	60 ± 4 Mly (18.5 ± 1.2 Mpc)
author	J. L. Tonry
date	2001
title	The SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances. IV. SBF Magnitudes, Colors, and Distances
journal	Astrophysical Journal
volume	546
bibcode	2001ApJ...546..681T
doi	10.1086/318301
arxiv	astro-ph/0011223
z	729 ± 2 km/s
appmag_v	9.1
size	36.99 kpc
(diameter; 2MASS total aperture)
size_v	7′.1 × 5′.5
constellation name	Coma Berenices
names	NGC 4382, UGC 7508, PGC 40515
::

| image = Messier85 - HST - Potw1905a.jpg | caption = Galaxy Messier 85 by Hubble Space Telescope | credit = | name = Messier 85 | epoch = J2000 | type = SA(s)0+ pec{{cite web | title=NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database | work=Results for Messier 85 | url=http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/cgi-bin/nph-objsearch?objname=M+85&extend=yes&out_equinox=J2000.0 | access-date=2006-11-18 | ra = | dec = | dist_ly = 60 ± 4 Mly (18.5 ± 1.2 Mpc) | author=J. L. Tonry | display-authors=4 | author2=A.Dressler | author3=J. P. Blakeslee | author4=E. A. Ajhar | author5=A. B. Fletcher | author6=G. A. Luppino | author7=M. R. Metzger | author8=C. B. Moore | date=2001 | title=The SBF Survey of Galaxy Distances. IV. SBF Magnitudes, Colors, and Distances | journal=Astrophysical Journal | volume=546 | issue=2 | pages=681–693 | bibcode=2001ApJ...546..681T | doi=10.1086/318301 |arxiv = astro-ph/0011223 | s2cid=17628238 }} | z = 729 ± 2 km/s | appmag_v = 9.1 | size = 36.99 kpc (diameter; 2MASS total aperture) | size_v = 7′.1 × 5′.5 | constellation name = Coma Berenices | notes = | names = NGC 4382, UGC 7508, PGC 40515 Messier 85 (also known as M85 or NGC 4382 or PGC 40515 or ISD 0135852) is a lenticular galaxy, or elliptical galaxy for other authors, | author=Kormendy, John | author2=Fisher, David B. | author3=Cornell, Mark E. | author4=Bender, Ralf | date=2009 | title=Structure and Formation of Elliptical and Spheroidal Galaxies | journal=Astrophysical Journal Supplement | volume=182 | issue=1 | pages=216–309 | bibcode=2009ApJS..182..216K | doi=10.1088/0067-0049/182/1/216|arxiv = 0810.1681 | s2cid=119273143

Pierre Méchain discovered M85 in 1781. It is within the outskirts of the Virgo Cluster, and is relatively isolated.

Properties

M85 is extremely poor in neutral hydrogen | author=Hibbard, J. E. | author2=Sansom, A. E. | date=2003 | title=A Search for H I in Five Elliptical Galaxies with Fine Structure | journal=The Astronomical Journal | volume=125 | issue=2 | pages=667–683 | bibcode=2003AJ....125..667H | doi=10.1086/345822|arxiv = astro-ph/0211003 | s2cid=14748737 | author=Fisher, David | author2=Franx, Marijn | author3=Illingworth, Garth | date=1996 | title=Line Strengths and Line-Strength Gradients in S0 Galaxies | journal=Astrophysical Journal | volume=459 | issue=1 | pages=110 | bibcode=1996ApJ...459..110F | doi=10.1086/176873| doi-access=

While indirect methods imply that Messier 85 should contain a central supermassive black hole of around 100 million solar masses, | author=Kormendy, John | author2=Bender, Ralf | date=2009 | title=Correlations between Supermassive Black Holes, Velocity Dispersions, and Mass Deficits in Elliptical Galaxies with Cores | journal=Astrophysical Journal Letters | volume=691 | issue=2 | pages=L142–L146 | bibcode=2009ApJ...691L.142K | doi=10.1088/0004-637X/691/2/L142|arxiv = 0901.3778 | s2cid=18919128 velocity dispersion observations imply that the galaxy may entirely lack a central massive black hole. | author=Gultekin, Kayhan | display-authors=2 | author2=Richstone, Douglas O. | author3=Gebhardt, Karl | author4=Faber, S. M. | author5=Lauer, Tod R. | author6=Bender, Ralf | author7=Kormendy, John | author8=Pinkney, Jason | date=2011 | title=Is There a Black Hole in NGC 4382? | journal=Astrophysical Journal | volume=741 | issue=1 | pages=L142–L146 | bibcode=2011ApJ...741...38G | doi=10.1088/0004-637X/741/1/38|arxiv = 1108.1808 | s2cid=411264

M85 is interacting with the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 4394, and a small elliptical galaxy called MCG 3-32-38. | title=M85, Lenticular Galaxy | work=Messier's Nebulae and Star Clusters | url=http://www.kopernik.org/images/archive/m85.htm | access-date=2009-03-29

Compared to other early-type galaxies, M85 emits a relatively smaller proportion of X-rays.

Novae and Supernovae

Two supernovae and one luminous red nova have been observed in M85:

• SN 1960R (TypeIa, mag. 13.5), was discovered by Howard S. Gates on 20 December 1960,{{cite web | url = https://www.rochesterastronomy.org/snimages/snother.html#1960R | title = Other Supernovae images, entry for SN 1960R | last = Bishop | first = David | website = Rochester Astronomy | access-date = 30 November 2024 | url = http://www.cbat.eps.harvard.edu/IAUCs/IAUC1750.jpg | title = Circular No. 1750 | last = Thernoe | first = K. A. | date = 23 January 1961 | website = Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams | publisher = Observatory Copenhagen | access-date = 30 November 2024

• M85 OT2006-1 was discovered on the outskirts of the galaxy, by the Lick Observatory Supernova Search (LOSS) on 7 January 2006. It was classified as a luminous red nova, the first to be identified as such. | author=Kulkarni, S. R. | display-authors=4 | author2=Ofek, E. O. | author3=Rau, A. | author4=Cenko, S. B. | author5=Soderberg, A. M. | author6=Fox, D. B. | author7=Gal-Yam, A. | author8=Capak, P. L. | author9=Moon, D. S. | author10=Li, W. | author11=Filippenko, A. V. | author12=Egami, E. | author13=Kartaltepe, J. | author14=Sanders, D. B. | date=2007 | title=An unusually brilliant transient in the galaxy M85 | journal=Nature | volume=447 | issue=7143 | pages=458–460 | bibcode=2007Natur.447..458K | doi=10.1038/nature05822|arxiv = 0705.3668 | pmid=17522679| s2cid=4300285

• SN 2020nlb (Type Ia, mag. 17.436) was discovered by the ATLAS telescope in Hawaii on 25 June 2020. This supernova got as bright as magnitude 12.{{cite web | url = https://www.rochesterastronomy.org/sn2020/sn2020nlb.html | title = Supernova 2020nlb in M85 | last = Bishop | first = David | website = Rochester Astronomy | access-date = 30 November 2024

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/M85map.png" caption="Location of M85"] ::

References

References

1. "Messier 85".
2. (2003). "The 2MASS Large Galaxy Atlas". The Astronomical Journal.
3. (2022). "The complex globular cluster system of the S0 galaxy NGC 4382 in the outskirts of the Virgo Cluster". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
4. "SN{{nbsp}}2020nlb". [[International_Astronomical_Union.
5. (2020). "ATLAS20qoq (AT2020nlb): Discovery of a candidate SN in MESSIER 85 (17 MPC)". Transient Name Server Astronote.

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