Arp 103 | Zwicky’s Triplet
| Name | Zwicky's Triplet |
| Designation(s) | Arp 103, PGC 59061, PGC 59602, PGC 59605 |
| Object Type(s) | Galaxy, Galaxy Cluster |
| Relevant Catalog(s) | All (Chron), Arp |
| Arp Category | Elliptical galaxies connected to spiral galaxies |
| Obs. Lat/Long | 42° 17', 073° 57' |
| Constellation | Hercules |
| Date and Time Observed | 2025-07-02 23:07:00 |
| Instrument | EdgeHD 8" w/f7 reducer-1,422mm FL |
| Camera | Player One Apollo-M Mini |
| Image Details | Up is 358.3 degrees E of N. Transparency: Good. Seeing: Good. Total integration time was 54m 30s. Exposures 15s@300g, UV/IR Cut Filter. Dithered and recentered in SharpCap. No guiding. |
| Description | Arp credits Zwicky in Table 1 of the Atlas as the source for this object. It consists of 3 galaxies: the brightest (magnitude 15) is PGC 59061 (bottom left). Overlapping it is PGC 59062 (bottom right). Two arcminutes to the north is PGC 59065, a lenticular galaxy of magnitude 16. Key to its "peculiarity" is a faintly luminous tidal arm connecting PGC 59061 and PGC 59065. Arp notes in his remarks to the Atlas: "Incomplete connection, blue knots in southern member." Zwicky is quite a character in the history of astronomy, and a major innovator: credited with major discoveries around Dark Matter (including naming it), Super Novae, and proposing the existence of Neutron Stars. He produced a six-volume Catalogue of Galaxies and of Clusters of Galaxies (CGCG), between 1961 and 1968, which helped Arp compile his Atlas. Zwicky was also a famous curmudgeon. He once said, “Astronomers are spherical bastards. No matter how you look at them they are just bastards.” Needless to say this did not endear him to his colleagues. |
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