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M99 aka. NGC 4254 - Coma Pinwheel
Magnitude: 10.4
Distance: Aprox: 55.7 million light-years
Constellation: Coma Berenices
Diameter: 85,000 light-years
Number of Stars Approx: 50 billion

Messier 99 is a grand design spiral, completely unbarred and with two giant spiral arms. One of the spiral arms is normal and the other appears distorted. M99 is slightly asymmetric in shape, with the nucleus shifted from the galaxy’s centre, likely as a result of interactions with other galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. M99 rotates clockwise and is classified as an Sc type spiral galaxy. It is receding from us at an unusually high velocity of 2,407 km/s. This is the highest redshift recorded for any Messier object.

Even though the Virgo Cluster Pinwheel has a diameter of 80,000 light years – almost the same size as the Milky Way –with an estimated mass of 50 billion solar masses, it has only 5 percent of our galaxy’s mass.

Messier 99 is one of over a thousand galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster, the closest cluster of galaxies to us

Taken 2/19/18 in Chiefland Florida by Russell Kille on a CPC 1100 with Hyperstar @ F2 and ZWO ASI294MC Pro camera