Adam Block of the Kitt Peak Visitor Center's Advanced Observing Program (AOP) took this gorgeous image of M61. M61 is one of the major members of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It is comparable in size to our own galaxy. Though a barred spiral, deep images such as this make the bar in the nucleus of the galaxy less obvious. This galaxy has an extraordinary number of star forming regions (HII, pink areas). A image with greater resolution would certainly show even more evidence of active star formation. At distance of 60 million light years away M61 seems to float in the foreground of several distant galaxies.

Bethany and Amanda VanStavern made this gorgeous image of M61 and nearby galaxy NGC 4303A, a smaller barred spiral looking like a miniature of the larger Messier galaxy. M61 exhibits interesting colors: The older population in and near the nucleus is recognzed from its yellowish color, the younger stars in the spiral arms are dominated, in light, by the hot blue stars of higher mass, and the pinkish diffuse nebulae mark regions of current star formation; current at the time the light was emitted. Faintish outlayers indicate the enormous size of huge M61. The image was taken during the authors' stay on Kitt peak with the Advanced Observing Program (AOP), and processed by Adam Block.

Last Modification: 27 Jun 1999, 16:00 MET