3D MODEL OF M87 (VIDEO) NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video. Caption This animation begins with a Hubble Space Telescope photo of the huge elliptical galaxy M87. It then fades to a computer model of M87. A grid is overlaid to trace out its three-dimensional shape, made more evident by rotating the model and grid. This shape was gleaned from meticulous observations made with the Hubble and Keck telescopes. Because the galaxy is too far away for astronomers to employ stereoscopic vision, they instead followed the motion of stars around the center of M87, like bees around a hive. This created a three-dimensional view of how stars are distributed within the galaxy that informed the model. Credit ANIMATION: NASA, ESA, Joseph Olmsted (STScI) 3D MODEL: Frank Summers (STScI) SCIENCE: Chung-Pei Ma (UC Berkeley) Usage Restrictions No restrictions. License Public Domain Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.