Markarian's Chain — Depth and Connection

Image Title: The hidden bridge of Markarian’s Chain

Copyright: Francisco Javier Pérez Olvera, Manuel Alejandro Chavarría Silva, George William Hoffman, Kollar Istvan, Jonathan Schwab, Giovanni Lombardi, Fumio Saito, Francesco Morini, David Serquera, Lorenzo Lilli & Giampiero Lilli, Gianni Melis, Richard Mongold, Emanuele La Barbera, Michele Mazzola, Ashley Brown, Satoshi Iino, Jeff Ratino, Ulli Wittur Fee, Marco Martinelli, Roberto Volpini, Krzysztof Gaudy, Patrick Bisaillon, Darius Kopriva, Jacopo Fallai, Roberto Testi, Kyle Fisk, Andrea Iorio (OP Team), Fernando Linsalata (OP Team), Elisa Cuccu (OP Team)

Date image was taken: May 15, 2025

Location: 3 different continents

Data Acquisition Method: Shared Community Data

Description and Details: This image is the result of OP_3 Collective Project, capturing the stunning Markarian's Chain!

Thanks to an incredible 660 hours of integration in HaLRGB (322 hours for Ha and 338 for LRGB), we were able to reach remarkable depth, revealing faint galactic structures and the elusive ionized hydrogen bridges connecting the galaxies.

A true testament to the power of collaboration and perseverance in astrophotography! A huge thank you to all the astrophotographers who contributed to this ambitious and inspiring project. Your dedication made this possible!

Francisco Javier Pérez Olvera, Manuel Alejandro Chavarría Silva, George William Hoffman, Kollar Istvan, Jonathan Schwab, Giovanni Lombardi, Fumio Saito, Francesco Morini, David Serquera, Lorenzo Lilli & Giampiero Lilli, Gianni Melis, Richard Mongold, Emanuele La Barbera, Michele Mazzola, Ashley Brown, Satoshi Iino, Jeff Ratino, Ulli Wittur Fee, Marco Martinelli, Roberto Volpini, Krzysztof Gaudy, Patrick Bisaillon, Darius Kopriva, Jacopo Fallai, Roberto Testi, Kyle Fisk, Andrea Iorio (OP Team), Fernando Linsalata (OP Team), Elisa Cuccu (OP Team)

Name: Overall Photons