We continue our deep optical imaging survey of the Virgo cluster using the CWRU Burrell Schmidt telescope by presenting B -band surface photometry of the core of the Virgo cluster in order to study the cluster ’ s intracluster light ( ICL ) .
We find ICL features down to \mu _ { B } \approx 29 mag arcsec ^ { -2 } , confirming the results of Mihos et al .
( 2005 ) , who saw a vast web of low-surface brightness streams , arcs , plumes , and diffuse light in the Virgo cluster core using V -band imaging .
By combining these two data sets , we are able to measure the optical colors of many of the cluster ’ s low-surface brightness features .
While much of our imaging area is contaminated by galactic cirrus , the cluster core near the cD galaxy , M87 , is unobscured .
We trace the color profile of M87 out to over 2000″ , and find a blueing trend with radius , continuing out to the largest radii .
Moreover , we have measured the colors of several ICL features which extend beyond M87 ’ s outermost reaches and find that they have similar colors to the M87 ’ s halo itself , B - V \approx 0.8 .
The common colors of these features suggest that the extended outer envelopes of cD galaxies , such as M87 , may be formed from similar streams , created by tidal interactions within the cluster , that have since dissolved into a smooth background in the cluster potential .