Spiral Galaxy M90

Spiral galaxy M 90 is near the center of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies – the closest cluster of galaxies to the our own Milky Way Galaxy. Also dubbed NGC 4569, this galaxy has a very compact and bright nucleus. Because of M90’s proximity and motion inside the Virgo Cluster, M90 actually shows a blueshift – indicating that it is moving toward us rather than away. Most galaxies show a redshift which indicates that they move away from us. Calibrating exactly how redshift relates to distance would indicate a scale for our universe – a topic of much debate recently.

Information: The Scale of the Universe Debate in April 1996