Markarian’s Chain in the Virgo Cluster

My image of Markarian’s Chain, captured from the skies of the United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪.

Markarian’s Chain is a famous curved alignment of galaxies located within the Virgo Cluster, one of the nearest large galaxy clusters to Earth. The chain was named after the Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian, who noticed that many of these galaxies appear visually connected in a smooth arc across the sky.

This region contains a remarkable variety of galaxies, including giant elliptical galaxies, spiral galaxies seen edge-on, and interacting systems shaped by gravitational encounters over millions of years.

Among the brightest members visible in this image are Messier 84 (M84) and Messier 86 (M86), both giant elliptical galaxies located about 54 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Another notable galaxy is NGC 4438, often called “The Eyes Galaxy” together with nearby NGC 4435, showing signs of strong gravitational distortion caused by past galactic interactions.

The field also contains numerous distant background galaxies scattered across the image, emphasizing the enormous depth of this region of the universe.

• Main region: Markarian’s Chain
• Constellation: Virgo
• Distance to the Virgo Cluster: ~54 million light-years
• Galaxy types visible: Elliptical, spiral, lenticular, and interacting galaxies

A total of 90 exposures, each 180 seconds long, were captured for a total integration time of 4 hours and 30 minutes.

Skywatcher Evostar 72ED
ZWO ASI183MM Pro
ZWO LRGB Filters 1.25”
ZWO AM3n
SVbony SV165 30mm F4 Mini Guide Scope
ZWO ASI290MM Guide Camera
ASIAir Pro

Pixinsight and Photoshop