Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Virgo (Vir)  ·  Contains:  M 84  ·  M 86  ·  NGC 4374  ·  NGC 4387  ·  NGC 4388  ·  NGC 4402  ·  NGC 4406  ·  NGC 4413  ·  NGC 4425  ·  NGC 4435  ·  NGC 4438  ·  NGC 4458  ·  NGC 4461  ·  NGC 4473  ·  NGC 4477  ·  NGC 4479  ·  The Eyes
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Markarian's Chain, Steven Bellavia
Markarian's Chain
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Markarian's Chain

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Markarian's Chain, Steven Bellavia
Markarian's Chain
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Markarian's Chain

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Description

Markarian's Chain is a stretch of galaxies that forms part of the Virgo Cluster. When viewed from Earth, the galaxies lie along a smoothly curved line. Charles Messier first discovered two of the galaxies, M84 and M86, in 1781. The other galaxies seen in the chain were first mentioned in John Louis Emil Dreyer's New General Catalogue, published in 1888. It was ultimately named after the Armenian astrophysicist, Benjamin Markarian, who discovered their common motion in the early 1960s. Member galaxies include the brighter lenticular galaxies, M84 (NGC 4374), M86 (NGC 4406), as well as NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435.The chain of galaxies spans over 1.5 degrees (three full moons) on the border between Virgo and Coma Berenices. The galaxies are between 50 and 70 million light years away.

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Markarian's Chain, Steven Bellavia

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