Markarian's Chain is a stretch of

galaxies A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...

that forms part of the

Virgo Cluster The Virgo Cluster is a large cluster of galaxies whose center is 53.8 ± 0.3 Mly (16.5 ± 0.1 Mpc) away in the constellation Virgo. Comprising approximately 1,300 (and possibly up to 2,000) member galaxies, the cluster forms the heart of the l ...

. When viewed from Earth, the galaxies lie along a smoothly curved line.

Charles Messier Charles Messier (; 26 June 1730 – 12 April 1817) was a French astronomer. He published an astronomical catalogue consisting of 110 nebulae and star clusters, which came to be known as the ''Messier objects''. Messier's purpose f ...

first discovered two of the galaxies, M84 and M86, in 1781. The other galaxies seen in the chain were discovered by

William Herschel Frederick William Herschel (; german: Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel; 15 November 1738 – 25 August 1822) was a German-born British astronomer and composer. He frequently collaborated with his younger sister and fellow astronomer Carolin ...

and are now known primarily by their catalog numbers in

John Louis Emil Dreyer John Louis Emil Dreyer (13 February 1852 – 14 September 1926) was a Danish astronomer who spent most of his career working in Ireland. He spent the last decade of his life in Oxford, England. Life Dreyer was born in Copenhagen. His fath ...

's New General Catalogue, published in 1888. It was ultimately named after the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

astrophysicist,

Benjamin Markarian Benjamin "Benik" Egishevitch Markarian ( hy, Բենիամին Եղիշեի Մարգարյան) was an Armenian astrophysicist. Markarian's Chain is a group of galaxies which was named after him when he discovered that its members move with a co ...

, who discovered their common motion in the early 1960s. Member galaxies include M84 (

NGC 4374 Messier 84 or M84, also known as NGC 4374, is a giant elliptical or lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo. Charles Messier discovered the object in 1781 in a systematic search for "nebulous objects" in the night sky. It is the 84th obj ...

), M86 (

NGC 4406 Messier 86 (also known as M86 or NGC 4406) is an elliptical or lenticular galaxy in the constellation Virgo. It was discovered by Charles Messier in 1781. M86 lies in the heart of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and forms a most conspicuous grou ...

NGC 4477 NGC 4477 is a barred lenticular galaxy located about 55 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. NGC 4477 is classified as a type 2 Seyfert galaxy. The galaxy was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 17 ...

NGC 4473 NGC 4473 is an elliptical galaxy located about 50 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 8, 1784. NGC 4473 has an inclination of about 71°. NGC 4473 is a mem ...

NGC 4461 NGC 4461 (also known as NGC 4443) is a lenticular galaxy located about 50 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784. NGC 4461 is a member of Markarian's Chain wh ...

NGC 4458 NGC 4458 is an elliptical galaxy located about 54 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784. NGC 4458 is a member of Markarian's Chain which is part of the Virg ...

NGC 4438 The Eyes Galaxies (NGC 4435-NGC 4438, also known as Arp 120) are a pair of galaxies about 52 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The pair are members of the string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain. NGC 4435 NGC 4435 ...

and

NGC 4435 The Eyes Galaxies (NGC 4435-NGC 4438, also known as Arp 120) are a pair of galaxies about 52 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. The pair are members of the string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain. NGC 4435 NGC 4435 ...

. It is located at RA 12^h 27^m and Dec +13° 10′. The bright members of the chain are visible through

small telescope A small telescope is generally considered by professional astronomers to be any reflecting telescope with a primary mirror that is less than in diameter. By amateur standards, a small telescope can have a primary mirror/aperture less than in dia ...

s. 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 million light-years away, known to some as Markarian's Eyes. At least seven galaxies in the chain appear to move coherently, although others appear to be superposed by chance. Six of the points on the chain can be marked by galaxies. The other two points are pairs of galaxies.

References

External links

The clickable Markarian's Chain of Virgo
Virgo (constellation) Virgo Cluster Discoveries by Benjamin Markarian {{galaxy-stub