Markarian’s Chain
A cascade of galaxies in the Constellation of Virgo. Soviet astronomer Benjamin Markarian noticed their common motion in the early 1960s. This image was shot over three months in a Bortle 4 zone and is a four-panel mosaic.
Total exposure: 48hrs 10mins
Filters: Red, Green, Blue, Hydrogen Alpha. Five-minute subframes.
Looking at the first image, you might think there are only around fifteen or twenty galaxies in this field of view but I counted and labelled 84. Okay, you might think I should have better things to do but I found this a fun project!
Most of the galaxies in the chain aren’t particularly spectacular. I think the joy is more about the cascading drama of these distant objects. The exceptions are two jewel-like galaxies known as ‘Markarian’s Eyes’ (NGC 4438 and NGC 4435).
You can see more detail in the chain here, including many faint ‘tiny’ galaxies caught in the background.
