I’ve got a good opportunity to test a newly released 45mm aperture telescope – SvBony SV545. Despite the challenging weather conditions, I was lucky to collect a good amount of exposure time on the Markarian’s Chain – a striking stretch of galaxies that forms part of the Virgo Cluster, appearing as a smoothly curved line when viewed from Earth. While, generally, galaxies are not the best targets for low focal length telescope, I’m quite happy with this image because of the massive amount of galaxies in the field of view. Below is an annotated picture. When you hover the cursor, it’ll show the zoomed area so that you can read names of some galaxies there.
Markarian’s Chain is a remarkable alignment of galaxies located in the heart of the Virgo Cluster, approximately 50-60 million light-years away. Named after Armenian astrophysicist Benjamin Markarian, who in the 1960s discovered that at least seven of these galaxies share a coherent motion through space, the chain creates a visually captivating curved arc across the border of the constellations Virgo and Coma Berenices. It includes prominent members such as the lenticular galaxies Messier 84 and Messier 86 (first discovered by Charles Messier in 1781), along with NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438, and NGC 4435. This formation not only offers stunning views for amateur astronomers but also provides insights into galaxy clustering, interactions, and evolution within one of the nearest galaxy clusters to our Milky Way.
I used the following gear for this shot
| Category | Equipment | Links |
|---|---|---|
| Telescope | SvBony SV545 | Learn More |
| Camera | ZWO ASI2600MC Pro | Learn More |
| Mount | Sky-Watcher HEQ5-Pro | |
| Filter Wheel | ZWO 5 x 2″ | Learn More |
| Filter | SvBony SV260 | Learn More |
| OAG | SvBony OAG | Learn More |
| Guide-camera | ZWO ASI 120mm-mini | Learn More |
Acquisition & Coordinates Details
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Bortle Dark-Sky Scale | 4.50 |
| Frames | SVBony SV260 Multiband 2″: 191×300″(15h 55′) |
| Integration | 15h 55′ |
| RA center | 12h28m06s.89 |
| DEC center | +13°08′37″.6 |
| Pixel scale | 3.831 arcsec/pixel |
| Orientation | -58.531 degrees |
| Field radius | 3.960 degrees |
Talking about the performance of SV545, my first impressions about this telescope are positive. I’ve used it with IMX571 sensor, and stars appearance is good, especially in the corners. I’ve posted a short video on my YouTube channel where I show the setup process and cover first exposures taken with SV545. Consider checking it out below!
The high-resolution version of this image is available on my AstroBin page below:
