Object Analysis

Messier 86 (M86) is an elliptical or lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo. Like its neighbor M84, it is a prominent member of the Virgo Cluster and Markarian's Chain. It is located approximately 52 million light-years from Earth.

M86 is unusual because it is one of the few galaxies moving *toward* the Milky Way rather than away from it. It is falling toward the center of the Virgo Cluster at such a high speed (over 244 km/s) that it is being "blue-shifted" from our perspective.

As M86 plows through the hot gas that fills the space between galaxies in the Virgo Cluster, its own gas is being stripped away. This process, called "ram-pressure stripping," leaves a long trail of hot gas behind the galaxy, which has been captured in spectacular X-ray images by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.