Markarian’s Chain: A Two-Panel Mosaic in the Heart of the Virgo Cluster
I’m delighted to share our latest Deep Sky Collective (DSC) project, focusing on the remarkable stretch of galaxies known as Markarian’s Chain. These galaxies extend from Virgo to Coma Berenices and are situated about 50 million light-years away in the Virgo Cluster, with diameters ranging between 50,000 and 130,000 ly. Some notable members include M86, M84, NGC 4438, and NGC 4435—several of which were discovered by Charles Messier and William Herschel, but ultimately named for Benjamin Markarian, who identified their physical association in the 1960s.
A Wide-Field View
To capture this region’s breadth and beauty, our DSC team created a 3°25′ × 1°10′ two-panel mosaic, extending beyond the well-known galaxies to include seldom-featured objects like M90 (displaying Ha outflow) and M89 (with a striking halo). Overall, the target was photographed for five months, with an additional two months devoted to pre- and post-processing.
Interesting Features
H-alpha “Bridge” (M86 & NGC 4438)
The Ha emissions between M86 and NGC 4438—sometimes called the “Ha bridge”—were first reported in 2008 (Kenney et al.). These filaments physically connect the galaxies, suggesting a past collision that stripped and ionised cold gas.
Ram Pressure Stripping in M90
On the mosaic’s right side, M90 exhibits a similar Ha outflow, but caused by a different process called ram pressure stripping. As M90 hurtles through the dense intracluster medium, gas is stripped from its disk and ionised, creating the observed Ha tail.
M89’s Extended Halo
Discovered by David Malin in 1979, M89’s faint outer halo is rarely captured in amateur images. Our data reveal the halo’s layered structure and a jet—partially cut off in our framing—caused by gravitational interactions common in cluster environments.
Background Galaxies & IFN
The depth of our mosaic allows for glimpses of countless foreground and background galaxies. Zooming in reveals clusters of faint red dots and smudges—each a distant galaxy. Overarching everything is a delicate web of Integrated Flux Nebula (IFN). Extremely faint in this region, the IFN adds drama and depth, rewarding the many hours we spent under dark skies.
Data & Integration
Seventeen participants combined their efforts to produce 461 hours 15 minutes of total integration, of which 202 hours 40 minutes were in H-alpha and 138 hours 5 minutes in luminance—making this the longest integration recorded on this field.
Stacking: Led by Carl Björk, who painstakingly stacked over 4,400 files and stitched the panels into a cohesive mosaic.
My Role (Steeve Body): I had the honour of processing the final data, meticulously balancing faint Ha structures, preserving galaxy detail, and showcasing the IFN.
Additional Contributions: Stephan Hamel provided superb Bortle 3 wide-field data incorporated into our mosaic.
Full Credits
- Tim Schaeffer (Coordinator)
- Carl Björk (Stacker)
- Steeve Body (Processing)
- Jasper Capel
- Logan Carpenter
- John Dziuba
- Antoine and Dalia Grelin – www.galactic-hunter.com
- Stephen Guberski
- Akask Jain
- Stephan Hamel
- Florent Herrbach
- Jason Jacks
- Justin P.
- Sophie Paulin
- Kevin Trillsam
- Jens Unger
- Mikhail Vasilev
Special Thanks To
- Carl for stacking over 4,400 files and merging most of the stacks
- Stephan for providing excellent wide-field data from Bortle 3 skies
- Everyone who contributed their time and expertise to make this mosaic possible
Check more DSC work here:
https://deepskycollective.com/gallery
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy our journey through Markarian’s Chain! Clear skies!
