| Name | Markarian's Chain |
| Designation(s) | M84, M86, NGC 4425, NGC 4402, NGC 4435, NGC 4438, IC 3386, IC3355, IC 3303, IC 3349 |
| Object Type(s) | Galaxy |
| Relevant Catalog(s) | All (Chron), IC, NGC |
| Obs. Lat/Long | 42° 17', 073° 57' |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Date and Time Observed | 2025-04-05 00:32:00 |
| Instrument | Seestar S50 f5.0-250mm FL |
| Camera | Seestar Built-in SONY IMX462 Sensor |
| Image Details | Up is 336.2 degrees E of N. Transparency: Fair. Seeing: Fair. Total integration time was 22m. Exposures 10s. Darks subtracted, no flats. Mosaic capture larger than the native FOV, filled in over multiple passes. Seestar's new "AI noise reduction" applied. |
| Description | Normally I'd use one of my other telescopes for this image, but the opportunity came up unexpectedly and was likely to disappear just as quickly. So I'd plunked down the Seastar and was capturing what I could. The April Cloudy Nights EAA challenge suggested picking your own view of this extraordinarily rich Virgo Galaxy Cluster. I defined this view in the Seestar's atlas, choosing the combination of galaxies that looked most pretty to me. Turned out my selection was pretty much identical to a famous cluster nicknamed "Markarian's Chain". I was using the Seestar's "mosaic" feature to define a much larger Field of View than the small sensor in this $500 "smart" telescope could normally capture. It then takes multiple passes, stitching them together automatically. I'm truly impressed by how well it did: the Seestar platform has improved tremendously since it was introduced in mid-2023, and original owners (of which I am one) are kept current through firmware updates. Quite remarkable. |
| Related Observations | M84 (4) M86 (4) NGC4438 (2) |
| Catalog Links | |
