The Virgo Cluster

Image Details:

This is a widefield shot of the Virgo Cluster, a large collection of galaxies best visible during the Spring in the Northern Hemisphere. This area of sky is nearly perpendicular to the galactic plane, meaning aside from the “foreground” stars (which are all within our Milky Way), all of the objects in this photo are extragalactic, with most being tens of millions of light years distant, and with the furthest object being placed hundreds of millions of light years further away.

Most of the brighter galaxies seen in the center, called Markarian’s Chain, are 50 million light years away or further. M87, seen up and to the left of image center (see Annotated image below), is also the location of the famous black hole “photo” (captured in radio light) in 2017. While some would think out own galaxy’s core black hole would be a better target, it is semi-obscured by dust and is significantly smaller than M87’s core black hole, which is estimated to be over 6 billion times the mass of our Sun.

Equipment:

• 2 x Rokinon 135mm (135mm Focal Length F/2)

• 2 x Canon EOS RP (unmodified)

• ZWO AM5N Mount

• Autoguiding: ZWO 30mm Guidescope + ZWO ASI178MM

Exposures:

• One Shot Color: 188 x 300” (15h 40m)

Misc Details:

• Capture Software: N.I.N.A. (capture), PHD2 (guiding)

• Processing Software: PixInsight

• Taken from: Texas Star Party near Ft. Davis, TX, Bortle ~2

• Capture Dates: 11-12, 15-16 May, 2026

Annotation