Markarian's Chain
Markarian’s Chain Staffordshire, UK by Nigel Armitage in March 2026
Galaxies contained in this image:
NGC 3432 Edge on Galaxy 40 million light years away. NGC 4474 Edge on Galaxy 50 million light years away. NGC 4468 Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy 55 million light years away. NGC 4459 Lenticular Galaxy 50 million light years away. NGC 4446 Spiral Galaxy 198.9 million light years away. NGC 3344 Bared Galaxy22.5 million light years away. IC 3280 Barred Spiral Galaxy 355.78 million light years away. NGC 4477 Barred Lenticular Galaxy55 million light years away. NGC 4479 Barred Lenticular Galaxy60 million light years away. NGC 4473 Elliptical Galaxy 50 million light years away. NGC 4458 Elliptical Galaxy 54 million light years away. NGC 4461 Lenticular Galax 50 million light years away. IC 3386 Elliptical Galaxy 65 million light years away. NGC 4435 Barred Lenticular Galaxy52 million light years away. IC 3382 Spiral Galaxy 348.8 million light years away. IC 3280 Spiral Galaxy 350.7 million light years away. NGC 4438 Barred Lenticular Galaxy52 million light years away. IC 3355 Irregular Galaxy 15.9 million light years away. NGC 4402 Spiral Galaxy 50 million light years away. NGC 4406 Lenticular Galax 52 million light years away. NGC 4374 Lenticular Galax 54.9 million light years away. NGC 4487 Spiral Galaxy 55 million light years away. IC 3303 Elliptical Galaxy 30 million light years away. NGC 4388 Spiral Galaxy 56.7 million light years away. NGC 4506 Spiral Galaxy 50 million light years away. NGC 4443 Lenticular Galaxy48.2 million light years away. IC 3393 Lenticular Galaxy 21.5 million light years away. IC 3388 Elliptical Galaxy 51.5 million light years away. NGC 4425 Lenticular Galaxy 21.5 million light years away. NGC 4407 Spiral Galaxy 52 million light years away. NGC 4413 Barred Spiral Galaxy 51 million light years away. IC 3363 Elliptical Galaxy 53 million light years away. IC 3349 Elliptical Galaxy 80 million light years away. IC 3315 Elliptical Galaxy 73 million light years away. IC 3311 Spiral Galaxy 68 million light years away
Whilst unremarkable at first sight, it is worth noting its content and taking a second look.
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 discovered by William Herschel[1] and are now known primarily by their catalogue numbers in John Louis Emil Dreyer’s New General Catalogue, published in 1888.[2] It was ultimately named after the Armenian astrophysicist, Benjamin Markarian, who discovered their common motion in the early 1960s.
The galaxies in this image range from 48 million to 355 million light years from earth.
This image contains 48 individual and visible galaxies.
This is one of my more recent pieces of work and contains 269 images, 9 hours of data.
It was taken in a Bortle 5 Sky over two separate nights
The equipment used was:
Williams Optics FLT132
ASI ZWO240MC Pro OSC
Optilong L Extreem Filter
ZWO AM5
ASIAir Plus
Williams Optics 50mm Guide Scope
ASI ZWO 120mm Mini Guide Camera.
The image was processed using Pixinsight and Photoshop.
Virgo Constellation Map. Credit: IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine
(Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg). License: CC 4