Galaxies in Virgo
The two galaxies to the lower right of this image are known as "the eyes," and through a typical amateur telescope they do resemble two mysterious eyes peering back at the observer from the depths of space. In photographs, the lower of the two, NGC 4438, shows large graceful blue extensions in several directions. These are strands of millions of stars that were undoubtedly pulled from the main core of the galaxy by gravitational interactions with either NGC 4435 or other large galaxies in this group.
To the upper left are two other galaxies that are easy to see with amateur scopes, the elliptical NGC 4458 (top) and the spiral NGC 4461. All of these galaxies are a part of Markarian's Chain, a string of many bright galaxies in the heart of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster.
NGC 4435:
| Magnitude | 10.6 |
| Apparent Size | 3.0' x 2.2' |
| Distance (light yrs) | 54 million |
| Right Ascension | 12:27.7 |
| Declination | +13 05 |
| Field of View | 34' x 26' |
Image details: Exposure times of 39 minutes luminance and 30 minutes each of red, green, and blue, taken with an SBIG ST-8300M imager and a 14" Meade LX850 telescope at f/5.2.
May 2018