M84, M86, NGC 4388. NGC 4438 & NGC 4435 -- Galaxies in Virgo
At the Heart of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster
Around 3:00AM this morning, from my suburban home, under a clear-night sky, I pointed the
155mm refractor towards the heart of the Virgo Cluster. I was pleased that I could visually make
out 5 of the 9 galaxies that I can see, using the same telescope, from a dark site. Many times I
have observed this section of the sky, from home. Usually, I can only make out the galaxies M84
and M86 from my light-polluted suburban site. But this morning, the Eyes Galaxies (NGC 4488
& NGC 4435) were visible and with a little additional effort, I was able to add the galaxy
NGC 4388 to the drawing as well.