Spiral Galaxy M99 (NGC 4254), type Sc, in Coma Berenices

RA 12 : 18.8 (h:m); Declination +14 : 25 (deg:m); Distance 60 million light years ;
Visual Brightness 9.9 (mag) ; Apparent Dimension 5.4x4.8 (arc min).

M99 was discovered on March 15, 1781 by Messier's colleague and friend, Pierre Méchain, together with the nearby situated M98 and M100. Charles Messier measured its position and included it in his catalog on April 13, 1781, immediately before finishing the third, final published edition.

M99, although situated in constellation Coma Berenices, is one of the bright spiral members of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It is of type Sc, rotates clockwise (unlike the nearby spiral M100), and is unusually asymmetric.

Source and more: SEDS

	March 30, 2009 21:38 - 22:28 UT. Imaging: William Optics Zenithstar 80 ED II APO, f/6.8 [focal length 545 mm] with ATK16IC camera, Astronomik Lum filter. Exposures: Lum 11x300s [1x1]; RGB not captured, all unguided.
	April 10, 2005 22:16 - 22:22 UT. Imaging: TAL-2M 6-inch f/8 focal reducer operating at f/4.6 [focal length 690mm], Vesta SC3a b/w RAW webcam, Baader Infra Red Blocking Filter, 30 unguided exposures of 10 seconds.