This is an elliptical galaxy of type E1/2, although some sources class it as S0 – a lenticular galaxy. An E2 class indicates a flattening of 20%, which has a nearly round appearance. The isophotes of the galaxy are boxy in shape, rather than simple ellipses. The mass-to-light ratio is a near constant 9.5 in the V band of the UBV system. The galaxy has an effective radius of , with an estimated mass of ~1012 within three times that radii, of which nearly half is dark matter. The mass estimated from X-ray emission is within 5 effective radii.
In 2004, supernovaSN 2004W was observed in Messier 60. It was a type 1a supernova located west and south of the nucleus.
Environment
M60 is the third-brightest giant elliptical galaxy of the Virgo cluster of galaxies, and is the dominant member of a subcluster of four galaxies, the M60 group, which is the closest-known isolated compact group of galaxies. It has several satellite galaxies, one of them being the ultracompact dwarf galaxyM60-UCD1, discovered in 2013. The motion of M60 through the intercluster medium is resulting in ram-pressure stripping of gas from the galaxy's outer halo, beyond a radius of 12 kpc. NGC 4647 appears approximately 2′.5 from Messier 60; the optical disks of the two galaxies overlap. Although this overlap suggests that the galaxies are interacting, photographic images of the two galaxies do not reveal any evidence for gravitational interactions between the two galaxies as would be suggested if the two galaxies were physically close to each other. This suggests that the galaxies are at different distances and are only weakly interacting if at all. However, studies with the Hubble Space Telescope show indications that a tidal interaction may have just begun.
Recession speed and distance estimations
Messier 60 was the fastest-moving galaxy included in Edwin Hubble's landmark 1929 paper concerning the relationship between recession speed and distance. He used a value of 1090 km/s for the recession speed, quite close to the more recent value of about 1110 km/s. But he estimated the distance of Messier 60, as well as of the other three nebulas of the Virgo Cluster which he included, to be only two million parsecs, rather than the accepted value today of around 16 million parsecs. These errors in distance led him to propose a "Hubble constant" of 500 km/s/Mpc, whereas the present estimate is around 70 km/s/Mpc.
