Photographic map of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster With galaxy density unusually high and foreground star density quite low a visual observer can easily get lost in the Virgo Cluster. Most maps available, however, are rendered by sky charting software and fail to give a meaningful impression of what to expect in the eyepiece. Our attempt for a better solution is a photographic chart of the area of interest centered on Makarian's Chain. It was captured in April 2012 under the crisp skies of La Palma island using a modified Canon EOS350D with a Zeiss Sonnar 135mm lens on an Astrotrac tracker. The map was generated using the green channel of a stack of 16 x 4min exposures and covers an area of about 9 x 6 degrees. The limiting magnitude of the finder chart is around 16mag, galaxies down to a visual magnitude of 13mag are labeled. Observers can use the 5mag star 6 Com on the right border of the map to start a visual tour of the galaxy cluster. 6 Com is conveniently placed about 6 degrees east of Beta Leonis. You can download the finder chart to be prepared for your next visit to the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. Happy hunting!
PDF with the full map of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster
Finder Chart Virgo Galaxy Cluster