As with many galaxies, M49 is a difficult object to view from light-polluted suburbs. It usually takes some patience and averted vision on behalf of the suburban amateur astronomer to find these objects. Still, when a galaxy enters an eyepiece (usually looking like a wisp of smoke), it’s a great experience knowing the light is from millions of light years away from a massive galaxy.
Messier 49 is a well-known galaxy for several reasons. For one, it was the first galaxy of the famous Virgo Cluster to be discovered. The astronomer Charles Messier first recorded seeing the object on February 19, 1771—view his comments further down. Also, M49 is the most luminous member of the Virgo Cluster and one of the brightest galaxies we can view from the backyard. Last but not least, it contains a large number of globular clusters.
M49 is a large elliptical galaxy. These types of galaxies are generally older than spirals (like our Milky Way) and don’t have many features. Think of it this way, taking a can of luminescent paint and spraying it on black paper at night would create a splotch of light in the middle with a circular haze slowly fading around it. That’s what ellipticals look like. These galaxies don’t have large arms (like a spiral galaxy) .
M49 is best viewed in May. So, if you are a backyard astronomer fighting light pollution, be sure to give this hazy object a try.
My Observations
| Date | May 21, 2022 |
| Time | 10:52 p.m. |
| Location | Seattle, WA |
| Magnification | 127x |
| Scope | Meade 8″ SCT |
| Eyepiece | 16mm |
| Seeing | Above Average |
| Transparency | Average |
Like Messier 85, M49 is a wisp of smoke in my eyepiece. As I move my telescope slightly left and right, I can see a hazy splotch run in and out of the eyepiece. As a comparison, it somewhat reminds me of looking at a fainter globular cluster of stars.
Key Stats
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Best Viewing | Spring |
| Visual Magnitude | +8.37 |
| Absolute Magnitude | -22.73 |
| Distance from Earth | 54 million yrs |
| Diameter | 161,000 ly |
| Apparent Size | 10.2 x 8.4 arcmin |
| Milky Way Location | NA |
| My Viewing Grade | B- |
Historical Observations
Charles Messier discovered M49 on February 19, 1771.
“Nebula discovered near the star Rho Virginis. One cannot see it without difficulty with an ordinary telescope of 3.5-feet [FL]. The Comet of 1779 was compared by M. Messier with this nebula on April 22 and 23: The comet and the nebula had the same light. M. Messier has reported this nebula on the chart of the route of the comet, which appeared in the volume of the Academy of the same year 1779. Seen again on April 10, 1781.” 2
Sources and Notes
Banner photo of M49: Produced by ESA/HUBBLE and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Details here.
1 Garner, R. (2017, October 6). Messier 49. NASA. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2017/messier-49
2 Guy McArthur, H. F. (n.d.). Messier 49. Retrieved May 27, 2022, from http://www.messier.seds.org/Mdes/dm049.html
Sketch by Wayne McGraw
AKA: M49, NGC 4472, PGC 41220
The Garden Astronomer 
