Galactic Stepping Stones

The Virgo Cluster consists of more than 2,000 galaxies, which unfortunately are optically too much for my small William Optics GT81 telescope individually. However, one of several sub-groups within the Virgo Cluster forms a striking J-curve shape that does make for a pleasing LRGB image. Discovered and named after the Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian, Markarian’s Chain is a string of bright galaxies that share a common motion through space. I first imaged the Chain in April 2015 using a modded DSLR and then again in April 2017, as my first LRGB image with the then new ZWO ASI1600MM-Cool camera but with integration times of less than 1-hour on both occasions, the resulting images were far from ideal. On this occasion using my new Chroma LRGB filters for the first time I was determined to do better.

The new filters and nearly 7-hours integration time has resulted in a much more dynamic and detailed image, which I believe now does justice to this spectacular group of galaxies. Analysis of the image using Astrometry.net shows just how crowded this area of Virgo is with galaxies (see annotated image above) but it is Markarian’s Chain that inevitably stands out together with a few other adjacent galaxies.

Large 10^th magnitude M84 & M86 galaxies at the western end of the Chain dominate the image. M84 is the object with the highest blue shift in the Messier catalogue, which is a result of its rapid movement (244km/sec) towards the centre of the Virgo Cluster and us. At the centre of M84 is a 1.5 billion solar mass black hole.
NGC 4420 & NGC 4388 – by comparison these edge-on galaxies together with even smaller NGC 4413 & NGC 4425 seem to frame the larger M84 and M86.
Next along the Chain is a pair of interacting galaxies, the smaller round shaped NGC 4435 and NGC 4438 with its distorted disk, known as “The Eyes”.
As the Chain starts to turn, some 20’ along is NGC 4458 and its partner, the 11th magnitude elliptical NGC 4461.
The final section of the Chain consists first of NGC 4473, its brightness generated by a supermassive black hole – at 100 million solar masses its diameter of 4.46au which would stretch from the Sun to the asteroid belt! Thereafter the 11.4 magnitude barred lenticular galaxy NGC 4477 defines the north eastern extremity of Markarian’s Chain.
As previously noted, there are many other galaxies in this part of the Virgo Cluster. Perhaps most notable though is M87, from which the first ever image of a black hole was the obtained in 2019 – consisting of some 6.5 billion solar masses.

All-in-all Markarian’s Chain makes for a rewarding image using my small telescope combined with the new Chroma filters. Such is the nature of the image the galaxies might also suggest a string of pearls or perhaps galactic stepping stones – metaphorically leading to the next phase of my astroimaging journey.

	IMAGING DETAILS
Object	Markarian’s Chain
Constellation	Virgo & Coma Berenices
Distance	50 – 55 million light-years
Size	~2.5^o total
Apparent Magnitude	Varies +10 to +12 approx.

Scope	William Optics GT81 + Focal Reducer FL 382mm f4.72
Mount	SW AZ-EQ6 GT + EQASCOM computer control & Cartes du Ciel
Guiding	William Optics 50mm guide scope
	+ Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2 camera & PHD2 guiding
Camera	ZWO1600MM-Cool mono CMOS sensor
	FOV 2.65^o x 2.0^o Resolution 2.05”/pix Max. image size 4,656 x 3,520 pix
EFW	ZWOx8 EFW & 31mm Chroma LRGB filters
Capture & Processing	Astro Photography Tool + PHD2 + Deep Sky Stacker, PixInsight v1.8.8-7, Photoshop CS3, Topaz Denoise
Image Location & Orientation	Centre RA 12:27:46.65 DEC +13:03:06.44 @21.30h Left = North
Exposures	100 x 60 sec L , 54 x 60 sec R, 55 x 60 sec G&B Total Integration Time: 6hr 44 min
	@ 139 Gain 21 Offset @ -20^oC
Calibration	10 x 60 sec Darks 15 x LRGB Flats & Dark Flats @ ADU 25,000
Location & Darkness	Fairvale Observatory – Redhill – Surrey – UK Typically Bortle 5-6
Date & Time	5^th & 6^th April 2021 @ +21.00h
Weather	Approx. <2^oC RH >=45% 🌙 30% waning