M49 is one of the most luminous galaxies in the Virgo Cluster. Classified as an elliptical galaxy, it is nearly spherical, contains little gas or dust, and does not show any signs of recent star formation. With a diameter of 50,000 light years, it is one of the largest and most massive elliptical galaxies in the known universe. A beam of light leaving one end of the galaxy would not reach the other end for 50,000 years. 
    This image shows some of the features that make M49 a typical elliptical: the bright central region surrounded by a soft envelope of starlight that diminishes as it extends into space. No new stars are being born in M49; it is dominated by aging stars, which emit mostly yellow light, close in