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APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
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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 above , is highlighted on the upper right with two large but featureless lenticular galaxies, M84 and M86 , and connects to the large spiral on the lower left, M88 . Prominent on the lower right but not part of Markarian's Chain is the giant elliptical galaxy M87 . 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.
| Date | March 16, 2005 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit and Copyright: R. Gilbert, J. Harvey et al. ( SSRO ) |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |