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Markarian's Chain

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Stretch of galaxies that is a part of the Virgo Cluster Not to be confused with Markarian galaxies.
Markarian's Chain
Markarian's Chain in an amateur telescope
Observation data (Epoch J2000)
Constellation(s)Virgo
Right ascension12 27
Declination+13° 10′

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 and are now known primarily by their catalog numbers 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 M84 (NGC 4374), M86 (NGC 4406), NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435. It is located at RA 12 27 and Dec +13° 10′.

The bright members of the chain are visible through small telescopes. 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.

Notable Objects

Galaxy Name Designation Galaxy Type Characteristics Distance (Mly) Notable Features
M84 NGC 4374 E1 Elliptical galaxy 60 Contains a supermassive black hole
M86 NGC 4406 S0/E3 Barred Lenticular galaxy 52 High-speed motion relative to the Virgo Cluster
Eyes Galaxies, Arp 120 NGC 4438 SA0/Sb Distorted spiral galaxy 52 Interacting with NGC 4435, tidal disruptions
Eyes Galaxies, Arp 120 NGC 4435 S0 Barred Lenticular galaxy 52 Companion to NGC 4438, tidal interactions
NGC 4461 NGC 4461 SB0 Lenticular galaxy 50
NGC 4473 NGC 4473 E5 Elliptical galaxy 50 Fast rotation
NGC 4477 NGC 4477 SB0 Barred lenticular galaxy 50 Features a bar structure
NGC 4458 NGC 4458 E0 Elliptical galaxy 53 Smaller elliptical

See also

References

  1. "NGC 204000-204999". Adventures in Deep Space. 2017-11-30. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  2. ^ French, Sue (2004). "Deep-Sky Wonders: Markarian's Chain". Sky & Telescope. 107 (5): 88–91.
  3. Markarian, B.E. (1961). "Physical chain of galaxies in the Virgo cluster and its dynamic instability". Astronomical Journal. 66: 555–557. Bibcode:1961AJ.....66..555M.
  4. Litzroth, E. (1983). "The Markarian chain of galaxies in the constellation Virgo". Astronomische Nachrichten. 304 (2): 69–72. Bibcode:1983AN....304...69L. doi:10.1002/asna.2113040204. ISSN 0004-6337.
  5. Meurers, J. (1977). "Markarian's Chain of Galaxies in Virgo". Astronomische Nachrichten. 298 (2): 103–106. Bibcode:1977AN....298..103M. doi:10.1002/asna.19772980206.

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