Markarian's Chain of Galaxies

Across the heart of the Virgo Cluster of Galaxies lies a striking string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain . The chain, pictured here , is highlighted on the right with two large but featureless lenticular galaxies, M84 and M86 . Prominent to their lower left is a pair of interacting galaxies known as The Eyes . 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. Note: APOD now available in Ukrainian