Messier 61

Barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Virgo
Place spiral_galaxy Q13978
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Messier 61

Summary

Messier 61 is a spiral galaxy[1]. It ranks in the top 7% of spiral_galaxy entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (256 views/month).[2]

Key Facts

  • Messier 61 is credited with the discovery of Barnaba Oriani[3].
  • Messier 61's instance of is recorded as spiral galaxy[4].
  • Messier 61's instance of is recorded as HI (21cm) source[5].
  • Messier 61's instance of is recorded as infrared source[6].
  • Messier 61's instance of is recorded as astrophysical X-ray source[7].
  • Messier 61's instance of is recorded as Seyfert 2 galaxy[8].
  • Messier 61's constellation is recorded as Virgo[9].
  • Messier 61's galaxy morphological type is recorded as SAB(rs)bc[10].
  • Messier 61's galaxy morphological type is recorded as Sc(dSc)[11].
  • Messier 61 is part of Virgo Cluster[12].
  • Messier 61 is part of Q67623508[13].
  • Messier 61 is part of Q67625638[14].
  • Messier 61 is part of Q67792877[15].
  • Messier 61's Commons category is recorded as Messier 61[16].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as M 61[17].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as MCG+01-32-022[18].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as NGC 4303[19].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as UGC 7420[20].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as IRAS 12194+0444[21].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as IRAS F12193+0445[22].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as PGC 40001[23].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as 2MASX J12215494+0428249[24].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as VCC 508[25].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as EVCC 429[26].
  • Messier 61's catalog code is recorded as MRC 1219+047[27].

Body

Geography

Part of include Virgo Cluster[12], a galaxy cluster[28]; Q67623508[13]; Q67625638[14]; and Q67792877[15].

Designation and Status

Recorded instance of include spiral galaxy[4], HI (21cm) source[5], infrared source[6], astrophysical X-ray source[7], and Seyfert 2 galaxy[8].

History and Context

Catalog codes include M 61[17], MCG+01-32-022[18], NGC 4303[19], UGC 7420[20], IRAS 12194+0444[21], and IRAS F12193+0445[22].

Why It Matters

Messier 61 ranks in the top 7% of spiral_galaxy entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (256 views/month).[2] It has Wikipedia articles in 26 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[29] It is known by 7 alternative names across languages and contexts.[30]

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [4] . SIMBAD. Retrieved . ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  2. [5] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  3. [6] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  4. [7] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  5. [8] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  6. [9] . VizieR. wikidata.org.
  7. [3] . messier.seds.org. Retrieved . messier.seds.org. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  8. [10] . SIMBAD. Retrieved . ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  9. [11] . The GALEX Ultraviolet Virgo Cluster Survey (GUViCS) III. The ultraviolet source catalogs. wikidata.org.
  10. [12] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  11. [13] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  12. [14] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  13. [15] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  14. [16] . wikidata.org.
  15. [17] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  16. [18] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  17. [19] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  18. [20] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  19. [21] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  20. [22] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  21. [23] . SIMBAD. Retrieved . haroldcorwin.net. Provenance: wikidata.org.
  22. [24] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  23. [25] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  24. [26] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.
  25. [27] . SIMBAD. wikidata.org.

Inline context (facts about related entities)

  1. [28] . Wikidata. wikidata.org. → on this site

Class ancestry

  1. [1] . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [29] . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [30] . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). Messier 61. Retrieved May 3, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/messier-61
MLA “Messier 61.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 3 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/messier-61.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_messier-61_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{Messier 61}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/messier-61}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-03}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): Messier 61 — https://4ort.xyz/entity/messier-61 (retrieved 2026-05-03)

Canonical URL: https://4ort.xyz/entity/messier-61 · Last refreshed:

Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 1d ago · Phantomdj · 2026-05-20 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Has part(s) ['Q9326267', 'Q9326449', 'Q9326508', 'Q4048831', 'Q9330129', 'Q4048841', 'Q89944
    "/* wbsetclaim-update:2||1|1 */ [[Property:P527]]: [[Q9326267]]"
  2. 14d ago · Phantomdj · 2026-05-07 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Aliases
    Constellation Virgo
    Apparent magnitude {'amount': '+9.65'}, {'amount': '+10.07'}, {'amount': '+10.18'} +9
    Declination {'unit': 'Q28390', 'amount': '+4.47377453772200'}
    + 17 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ [[Property:P527]]: [[Q9326267]]"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.