Markarian’s Chain is a sweeping arc of galaxies in the heart of the Virgo Cluster, named after the Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian who first noted the common proper motion of its members in the 1970s. The two brightest — the giant ellipticals M84 and M86 — anchor the western end, while the interacting pair NGC 4438 and NGC 4435 (known as The Eyes) lie to the east, their entwined halos distorted by mutual tidal forces. The Virgo Cluster contains over 1,300 member galaxies and its collective gravity is gradually pulling the Local Group toward it at several hundred kilometres per second.