Markarian’s Chain: The Galactic Downtown

PekDar — Mon, 23 Dec 2019 22:45:15 +0000

Markarian’s Chain – A River of Galaxies

Looking toward the constellation Virgo, we gaze into the “downtown” of our local supercluster. Markarian’s Chain is a remarkable arc consisting of at least 8 major galaxies that are not just close in the sky but are physically moving in the same direction. It is a gravitationally bound stream of matter.

Detail Analysis (What’s in the Crops?)

In my image, I have highlighted key areas to showcase the morphological diversity of these objects. A glance at the close-ups is enough to understand galactic evolution:

1. The Elliptical Giants: M84 and M86

The first close-up shows the two brightest “lanterns” of the chain.

These are elliptical galaxies (Type E). They appear as smooth, glowing orbs devoid of spiral arms.
They are “stellar retirement homes”—composed mainly of old, yellow stars, with the gas needed for new star formation long since consumed or stripped away.
Fun Fact: M86 is moving toward us at high speed (blueshift), a rarity in an expanding Universe—a result of its rapid dance within the cluster’s gravitational well.

2. “The Eyes”: NGC 4435 and NGC 4438

The second close-up reveals a pair of galaxies that look completely different. These are known as “The Eyes.”

NGC 4438 is particularly interesting. Unlike the calm M84/M86, here we see chaos.
It is a spiral galaxy that has been drastically deformed. Its tattered structure and dark dust lanes (clearly visible in the crop) are evidence of a violent collision or close encounter with another galaxy in the past. It is a galactic “wreck” under reconstruction.

Technical Challenge: The Background

When photographing this region, remember that the background is not empty. With sufficiently long integration and dark skies, dozens, if not hundreds, of distant background galaxies begin to loom between the main components of the chain. This provides an incredible sense of depth.

Source:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markarian%27s_Chain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messier_86
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_4402
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyes_Galaxies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NGC_4388

Photographs made on March 2019.