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 lower right with two large but featureless lenticular galaxies, M84 and M86 , and connects through several large spiral to the upper left, including M88 . The home Virgo Cluster is the nearest cluster of galaxies , contains over 2,000 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. The above image is just a small part of a mosaic dubbed the Big Picture taken by the Samuel Oschin Telescope at Palomar Observatory , in California , USA . A mural of the Big Picture will be displayed at the newly renovated Griffith Observatory near Los Angeles , California.