M58 - NGC 4579

Messier 58 (NGC 4579) is a barred spiral galaxy located approximately 62 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. It is one of the brightest galaxies in the Virgo Cluster and was discovered by Charles Messier on April 15, 1779, on the same night he discovered several other Virgo Cluster members. M58 was one of the first galaxies recognized as having a barred spiral structure, with a prominent central bar connecting two well-defined spiral arms. The galaxy has an active galactic nucleus classified as a low-ionization nuclear emission-line region (LINER) with some Seyfert 1.9 characteristics, indicating low-level activity powered by a supermassive black hole at its center. M58 has a visual magnitude of about 9.7 and spans approximately 6 by 4.5 arcminutes on the sky, corresponding to a physical diameter of roughly 107,000 light-years. Two supernovae have been observed in M58: SN 1988A (Type II) and SN 1989M (Type Ia). The galaxy possesses a bright, elongated core surrounded by a diffuse halo of fainter spiral structure. In small telescopes, M58 appears as an oval smudge of light with a brighter center, similar in appearance to many other Virgo Cluster galaxies. Larger telescopes of 10 inches or more may begin to hint at the bar structure and inner spiral arms under excellent conditions. M58 is part of a chain of galaxies that includes M59 and M60, and sweeping through this region with a moderate telescope reveals numerous galaxies in a relatively small area of sky.

M58 spans roughly 107,000 light-years in diameter with a visual magnitude of 9.7, located about 62 million light-years away in the Virgo Cluster.