APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
Markarian's Chain of Galaxies
Explanation: Across the heart of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies lies a striking string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain . The chain, pictured here , is highlighted on the right with two large but featureless lenticular galaxies, M84 and M86 . Prominent to their lower left is a pair of interacting galaxies known as The Eyes . The home Virgo Cluster is the nearest cluster of galaxies , contains over 2000 galaxies, and has a noticeable gravitational pull on the galaxies of the Local Group of Galaxies surrounding our Milky Way Galaxy . The center of the Virgo Cluster is located about 70 million light years away toward the constellation of Virgo . At least seven galaxies in the chain appear to move coherently , although others appear to be superposed by chance.
Note: APOD now available in Ukrainian
| Date | March 31, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Image Credit & Copyright: Sergio Kaminsky |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |



