Arp’s Peculiar Galaxies
Page 7 of 7
Arp observations 61-70 of 70 total to date.
| Thumbnail | Title/link | Arp Category | Date Observed | Observer Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Arp 284 / NGC 7714 / NGC 7715 | Galaxies with infall and attraction | 2023-10-10 22:30:32 | There are two galaxies in the frame: NGC 7714 is a distorted spiral galaxy that appears to be attracting stellar material from above and below. Below, the new material deformed a large spiral arm, out- and down-wards. 7714 has a very bright galactic center and the rest of the spiral disk is bright and well formed. NGC 7715 is much less bright, with a dim center. We appear to be viewing it edge-on, distorted into an integral sign shape that runs right to the edge (and behind?) 7714. The fact that 7714 is brighter and more intact suggests it is the dominant galaxy of the two. On reflection, I'm wondering if we're seeing a "near miss" with 7715 passing from bottom left to upper right, behind 7714. The stellar material below 7714 could be the initial stellar material attracted from 7715, which is continuing to give up material via the integral sign as it continues its movement towards the upper right.. |
 |
Arp 285 / NGC 2854 / NGC 2856 | Galaxies with infall and attraction | 2024-02-05 00:23:30 | Captured in a combined image with Arp 1. These two emerged first, substantially brighter than Arp 1. The foreground galaxy, NGC 2854, is a spiral, barred galaxy forming an extended "S" curve pointing directly to NGC 2866 with a hint of a dust lane connecting them (seen more clearly in the Arp plate); NGC 2856 is a more regular, compact spiral. A jet visible in the Arp plate shoots in the general direction of Arp 1. It is indicated in my capture by a spot of increased brightness on the edge of the disc but the jet itself is otherwise invisible. |
 |
Arp 286 / NGC 5560-5566-5569 | Galaxies with infall and attraction | 2024-06-07 23:07:00 | Captured during a brief, clear window during an otherwise cloudy new-moon night. Transparency was suspect though SharpCap's brightness filter stayed quiet until near the end of the capture. Arp 286 embodies 3 wildly interacting galaxies. NGC 5566 is the elongated spiral galaxy in the center; lower-diagonal-left is NGC 5569, a dwarf spiral with extensive filaments connecting it to 5566. One small arm of 5566 has been pulled away slightly by the interaction. NGC 5560 (upper-left) is an extreme barred spiral, with the lower arm pulled towards 5566 and exhibiting filaments "nearly" connecting them. The classic S curve of such galaxies in this case is slightly asymmetrical, and expanded in the direction of 5566. Judging visually, I presume that both of the smaller galaxies will end up merged into 5566, though it's possible 5560 has already "missed" 5566 and is now moving away. The extreme barred structure suggests it's been interacting for a very long time. |
 |
Arp 299 / NGC 3690 | Unclassified double galaxies | 2024-05-24 23:07:00 | Another surprisingly good capture given a waning moon just a couple of days past full. Luckily aiming directly away. These galaxies are astonishing. Two appear so well advanced that they have a single NGC number instead of two consecutive, or, as you see often an A/B. They both seemed to be irregular barred galaxies that, by this point, have merged galactic centers. The dwarf IC 694 seems to be sucked in from the bottom of the image as well. |
 |
Arp 317 / M65 / Leo Triplet | Groups of galaxies | 2024-01-22 20:11:00 | This is a stunningly beautiful group of three spiral galaxies. M66 appears to be bent slightly by the attraction to M65, as does the edge-on NGC 3628. These galaxies are quite bright, distinctly visible even after 60 seconds of integration. I had chosen to observe this cluster both because of their brightness, and because they would be rising in the East when an 87% moon would have passed the meridian. Moonglow is responsible for the brown tinge. I have attached a "bonus" image which is a SeeStar 50 capture from a month earlier, during a very dark and clear morning. This is the best galaxy capture I've achieved with this $500 automated telescope, and demonstrates what it can achieve when conditions are "perfect". |
 |
Arp 319 / Stephans Quintet / NGC 7320 | Groups of galaxies | 2023-05-11 20:47:00 | I became aware of Stephan's Quintet originally because of my affection for NGC 7331, its proximity to this group, and the fact that one of the galaxies here is likely gravitationally bound to it. So this image predates my decision to start observing Arp Galaxies seriously. It's an adequate capture, but did require some fairly heavy stretching in Affinity Photo to bring out the galaxies fully, and especially the dust lanes connecting them. |
 |
Arp 320 / Copeland Septet | Groups of galaxies | 2024-02-19 00:00:06 | These 14th magnitude galaxies are tiny and challenging in the best conditions; even more so with an 83% illuminated moon. We've opted here to enhance them to make them easier to see at the expense of noise in the images. |
 |
Arp 331 / NGC 383 | Chains of galaxies | 2023-12-06 22:00:06 | This is a very rich galaxy-field. Besides the galaxy cluster that Arp labels, I counted 12 additional galaxies by eye. The Astrometry.net annotation is so cluttered that it's very challenging to read. Included as part of Arp 331 are NGC 383 (central galaxy), 379, 380, 382, 384, 385, 386, and 388. Additional galaxies within the field of view include: NGC 370, 373, 374, 375, 392, 397, 398, 399, 400, 402, 403 plus IC 1614, 1618, 1619. This means the annotation found at least 2 galaxies I didn't count by eye, presumably the IC galaxies (IC 1614 is 17th magnitude). This observation was part of the December 2023 Cloudy Nights EAA Challenge, which is why I observed it when I did. |
 |
Arp 336 / Helix Galaxy | Miscellaneous galaxies | 2022-12-20 20:30:13 | This was captured very early in my EAA career... I'd had less than 30 days of successful captures. This is a relatively small target which tested the limit of my reduced C9.25 SCT, particularly because I was observing from a not terribly rigid deck the required 10s exposures in SharpCap. By appearances, this is a very conventional spiral galaxy with the exception of the bulge below and to the right. It does not seem to be a merger, as the disk is not distorted. It does appear to be an exchange of materials from one part of the disk to another. I presume Arp didn't know what to make of it either since he categorized it as miscellaneous. |
 |
Arp 337 / Cigar Galaxy / M82 | Miscellaneous galaxies | 2024-02-19 20:23:00 | This is another very bright and familiar target, though most of my experience has been wide field captures of the M81 Group. The broad outlines of the galaxy are immediately obvious, but the details of venting and the disruption of the galactic center emerge much more slowly. |