John Vermette, taken from Starfront Observatory, Texas
The famous galaxy group Markarian’s Chain in the heart of the Virgo cluster of galaxies dominates this wide-field vista as a line of eight galaxies stretching from upper left. But there are many more galaxies in this image: Every dot of light is a galaxy, as the photographer digitally removed all of the stars to highlight the galaxies. This image comprises 16⅔ hours of exposure with a 4-inch scope and one-shot color camera.