210323 - M84 Markarian's Chain
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click image to enlarge
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ASTRO:
type=Group of 13xGalaxies linked by gravity & motion const=Virgo mag=9.9 (avg) dist=53 M ly (avg) size (group)=~3 ly IMAGE: location=EB Driveway BrtlCls=4 exposure=DSLR OSC: 71x90s (1.8h), ISO1600 EQUIPMENT: camera=Nikon D90 (mod) optics=ES102, w0.8 rdcr, F=571mm, f/5.6 filter=Optolong L-Pro LPS mount=Celestron AVX guiding=Orion 60x240mm, ZWO ASi224MC SOFTWARE: acquisition=Stellarium, APT, PHD2, processing=DSS, PhotoshopCC, LrC |
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Markarian's Chain is a line of galaxies that forms part of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. When viewed from Earth, the Chain lies along a smoothly curved line. Charles Messier first discovered two of the galaxies, M84 and M86, in 1781. The remainder galaxies were discovered by William Herschel and are now known primarily by their catalog numbers in the New General Catalogue ("NGC"). The Chain was ultimately named after the Armenian astrophysicist, Benjamin Markarian, who discovered their common motion, and proved in 1965 that gravitational linkage exists between several of them.
The New General Catalogue ("NGC") was originally published in 1888, but has seen significant additions and revisions made since then. Behind Charles Messier's famous list, the NGC is (arguably) the most used catalog by amateur astronomers today.
The bright members of the chain are visible through small telescopes. Larger telescopes can be used to view the fainter galaxies. Near the center there appear the pair of interacting galaxies NGC 4438 and NGC 4435, about 50 M light-years away from Earth known to some as "Markarian's Eyes".
In this image, there are as many as 15 galaxies visible; at least seven (7) of those appear to move through space coherently. That is, they are bound to each other by their mutual gravitational attractions. Others may simply be positioned in our line of sight by chance. Six (6) of the points on the chain can be marked by single galaxies, while two (2) are galaxy pairs.
The New General Catalogue ("NGC") was originally published in 1888, but has seen significant additions and revisions made since then. Behind Charles Messier's famous list, the NGC is (arguably) the most used catalog by amateur astronomers today.
The bright members of the chain are visible through small telescopes. Larger telescopes can be used to view the fainter galaxies. Near the center there appear the pair of interacting galaxies NGC 4438 and NGC 4435, about 50 M light-years away from Earth known to some as "Markarian's Eyes".
In this image, there are as many as 15 galaxies visible; at least seven (7) of those appear to move through space coherently. That is, they are bound to each other by their mutual gravitational attractions. Others may simply be positioned in our line of sight by chance. Six (6) of the points on the chain can be marked by single galaxies, while two (2) are galaxy pairs.