Markarian's Chain in the Virgo
Galaxy Cluster
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(Galaxies:
M84, M86, NGC4402, NGC4387,
NGC4388, NGC4413, NGC4425,
NGC4435, NGC4438, NGC4458,
NGC4461, NGC4473, NGC4477,
NGC4479, NGC4459, NGC4446,
NGC4447).
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This nearest moderately rich
cluster of galaxies lies in the
direction of Virgo. The richest
part
of the cluster is centered on
the giant elliptical galaxies
M84 and M86 -- the two large
yellow
galaxies to the lower right of
center. NGC4438 is
gravitationally distorted by its
companion NGC4435. The whole
cluster is receding with an
average velocity of over 1000 km
per
second. The photo above and its
labeled version below show most
of the chain.
Photographic Data: An
Astrophysics 155-mm f/7 EDF
refractor and Nikon F2 35 mm
camera were used with
hypersensitized Kodak Pro 400
PPF film. Two 50-minute exposure
were blended with the computer.