M99 (NGC4254) is pretty bright ( 9.7mag) and fairly large (5,4′ × 4,7′) type SC spiral-galaxy in the constellation of Coma Berenices.It belongs to the Virgo-galaxy-cluster and is situated at its nothern border.Its distorsion (shifted centre) is caused by the passage and interaction with the nearby galaxy M98.It was discovered by Pierre Méchain in 1781 and was the second galaxy after M51,whose spiral structure was detected by Lord Rosse in 1846.
position:
RA: 12h 18m 49,52s
Dekl.: +14° 25′ 0,4″
L(Ha)RGB L=15x1200s RGB=7x1200s each,H=5x2400s total 15.3 h, north is up, seeing 0.8-1.4 arc-sec.
80cm f/7 Astrooptik Keller cassegrain, FLI PL 16803, Baader Filters, Prompt 7 CTIO/UNC Chile,remote controlled
Image processing: Bernd Flach-Wilken
this is a look at 85% of the CCD-field.Click on it for a larger view.
here is close-up of M99:
here is a high-contrast b/w-picture that show better the weak outer region of M99,probably remnants of interaction events with other galaxies
a very close portrait of parts of M99 was taken by the HST