M87: a starburst galaxy in Ursa Major

Images taken: on three nights in April 1, 2003, by R. Stanford and H. Odom.

Telescope: Meade 12 in with f/3.3 focal reducer (f=44in).

Camera: SBIG ST-7 CCD

Exposures: 17x15 sec at medium resolution (2x2 binning).

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This giant elliptical galaxy is in the center of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Careful image processing reveals a 4,100 light years long jet spit out (to the left on the picture) by the giant black hole in the middle of the galaxy. The excessive sharpening needed to bring out the jet produces the strong grains of noise in the background.

Image processing: CCDoops + CCDSoft + CCDsharp + Photoshop CS.