Back to photostream

Markarian Chain

A Markarian Chain is a band of galaxies that forms part of the Virgo Cluster. It is called a "chain" due to the fact that, observed from the Earth, the cluster is arranged along a vaguely curved line. His name refers to the Armenian astrophysicist “B. E. Markarian”, who discovered their common motion in the early 60s. The cluster includes, among other galaxies, M84 (NGC 4374), M86 (NGC 4406), NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435. At least seven galaxies in the Markarian Chain move apparently coherently, although others appear to overlap completely randomly.

2,644 views
43 faves
0 comments
Uploaded on April 22, 2023