The golden ratio is the numerical expression of nature's elegance. Everything around us follows this particular proportion: from small seashells to the tallest trees, from the leaves of a seedling to weather patterns. That is why humankind has always tried to imitate it — in art, in architecture, in music, and on to the most modern forms such as photography, web design and string theory.
Thanks to Fibonacci, the great Italian mathematician of the 12th century, we can produce a numerical series that, through very intuitive relationships, reproduces the effects of the golden ratio.
What if it held out there too?
Today we ask ourselves how much, and in what way, astronomical objects interact with one another. Gravity is debated, and so are quantum interactions such as entanglement, revealing bonds capable of shaping the entire universe.
I believe that the Fibonacci spirals which form in a cauliflower — if you don't believe me, go and look — may show up between enormous galaxies as well. So I asked myself: if nature applied the same rules and the same ratios on an astronomical scale, would the galaxies of Markarian's Chain follow the Fibonacci spiral?
What you are looking at
Markarian's Chain is a group of galaxies belonging to the Virgo Cluster, which holds around 1,500 of them. Of these, at least seven genuinely interact, moving along a spiral-shaped path.
In the photograph, among many others, you can make out M84 (NGC 4374), M86 (NGC 4406), NGC 4477, NGC 4473, NGC 4461, NGC 4458, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435.
Please note: my depiction of the relationship between these galaxies has no scientific sources. But I like to believe there is such elegance throughout the universe.
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