Arp 160 / NGC 4194 / Medusa Merger Galaxy
| Name | Medusa Merger Galaxy |
| Designation(s) | Arp 160, NGC 4194 |
| Object Type(s) | Galaxy |
| Relevant Catalog(s) | All (Chron), Arp, NGC |
| Arp Category | Galaxies disturbed by interior absorption |
| Obs. Lat/Long | 42° 17', 073° 57' |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Date and Time Observed | 2026-02-27 21:41:00 |
| Instrument | EdgeHD 8" w/f7 reducer-1,422mm FL |
| Camera | Player One Apollo-M Mini |
| Image Details | Up is 0.5 degrees E of N. Transparency: Fair. Seeing: Fair. Total integration time was 40m. Exposures 20s@225g, No Filter. Dithered and recentered in SharpCap. No guiding. |
| Description | The modern consensus, backed up by a series of gorgeous Hubble images (see 1 of them in the gallery), and multi-band observing, is that this is a late stage merger whose disruption triggered starburst activity. Chandra X-Ray observing detected a black hole in the tidal tail at the top (N) of the image, which appears like the venomous snakes in the Greek goddess Medusa's hair. As usual, Arp almost never sees mergers in his Atlas, instead categorizing this as "disrupted with interior absorption". His remarks, cryptically to an amateur like myself, state "lambda3727 em" which is (according to Google's AI) a spectroscopic absorption line associated with new star formation. A challenging night with mediocre conditions and a 75% moon illuminating the background. I'm surprised the image ended up as clear as it is. |
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