The two great galaxies, M86 and M84, are in the richest part of the
cluster, and a larger instrument shows many more nearby. My white
Celestron 14, Harvey, shows all the galaxies here that are plotted on
_Millennium_Star_Atlas_, and more besides, when observing with either of
my two favorite magnifications for galaxy work with it; namely 244x (16
mm Brandon) and 98x (40 mm Vernonscope Erfle). NGC 4388, which is at
the south point of an equilateral triangle whose other two points are
M86 and M84, easily shows as well elongated, and fainter NGC 4387, in
the middle of the triangle, is also obvious. I often use this quartet
of galaxies to check on seeing, transparency, and instrument capability,
or to show the variation in galactic size, shape, and brightness to
newcomers. I have even seen all four in my 55 mm Vixen fluorite
refractor, Refractor Red, in excellent sky conditions, at 37x (12 mm
Brandon). My 90 mm Vixen fluorite gives a nice view at 68x (the same 12
mm Brandon), and a three-inch f/10 Newtonian -- I have one of Stargazer
Steve's Sgr-3s -- shows all four galaxies as well, using the 17 mm
generic Plossl eyepiece that came with it.
This group of galaxies gives one a sense of the vastness of the
universe, for if there are two bright ones, and one fainter, and one
fainter still, surely there must be more, beyond the limits of
visibility of my equipment. There are -- a local CCD imager recently
took a deep image of this area with his 5-inch Takahashi fluorite, and
recorded scores of galaxies to blue magnitude 20 and beyond! I'll have
to take a copy of his work into the field, to see what more I can
locate. I rather doubt I will get to magnitude 20, but I expect I can
identify a few more galaxies in that area.
M87 has some challenges, too. I have never seen its famous jet,
though other observers report doing so in aperture similar to Harvey,
with high magnification and very good seeing, so there is hope. I will
have to be careful with my observations, though, for I know the position
angle of the jet, so it will be easy to fool myself. M87 has some
companions, too -- _Millennium_ shows NGC 4486A, 4486B, 4478 and 4476
nearby. These are all pretty easy in Harvey, but to my surprise and
delight, I was also able to see them in my 90 mm fluorite at 68x, in
pretty good sky conditions. NGC 4476 was the easiest, NGC 4486A was
tougher, and the other two were very difficult. I did not see any of
these in the Sgr-3, though the sky was much brighter when I used that
instrument. I suspect it might show NGC 4476 on a darker night.
A coincidental linear grouping of galaxies zig-zags east and north
from M84 and M86, all the way to M88. _Millennium_ plots twelve
members, not counting the Messier galaxies, and Harvey shows them all.
I had my own personal name for these objects, before I learned that they
were called "Markarian's Chain" -- I called this stately procession "The
Avenue of Galaxies". Perhaps some think it more nearly resembles a
frenetic serpent, for the pair of galaxies nearest M86 and M84 -- NGC
4435 and 4438 -- are known as "The Eyes". For some reason I had picked
up on the name as "The Cat's Eyes", even though I have never known any
elongated, zig-zaggy felines. A fainter pair, NGC 4458 and 4461,
follows, and then a brighter single galaxy, NGC 4473. I have seen all
five of these in Refractor Red, as well as in the Sgr-3 and the 90 mm
fluorite.
I never tried to trace all of Markarian's chain with Refractor Red,
but it zigs toward the northwest at the next galaxy, NGC 4479, a
relatively faint one, which precedes NGC 4477, which is much brighter.
I could see both of these in the Sgr-3 and in the 90 mm fluorite, but
the next two galaxies, NGC 4446 and 4447, are a very faint pair where
the chain zags back to the east. I have seen them only in Harvey. The
next galaxy in the chain, NGC 4459, is bright enough for the two smaller
instruments, but the final two, NGC 4468 and 4474, are beyond them.
-- Jay Freeman