Markarian's chain

Speaking of the Virgo supercluster, here's Markarian's chain, a photogenic string of galaxies in the Virgo cluster:

Markarian's chain 4/2010

including Messier 87 lower left

Here at low magnification, M 87 (featured in the prior post) is the nondescript elliptical galaxy in the lower left.

bonus feature:
close up of the "eyes", a pair of interacting galaxies in Markarian's chain

NGC4438 & NGC 4435
Note the disturbed dark lane and streaming outer stars in the left hand galaxy, resulting from gravitational interaction with it's neighbor

this is occasionally the basis for my avatar ;)

Details:
markarian's chain
FS60C @f/4, IDAS-LPR filter, SX H9, H9C.
Lum 45x5 min 223x1 min
RGB 101x5 min
los alamitos, CA 4/3-17/2010 bortle white skies

NGC4438 & NGC 4435
nexstar 8 gps, f/6.3 FR, H9C
350 minutes (70x5)
approximately 2/3 with IDAS LPR filter, 1/3 without
4/23,24,30/2006!
Los Alamitos CA
bortle white skies, mediocre seeing, worse transparency