Arp 204 / VV 39
| Designation(s) | Arp 204, VV 39 |
| Object Type(s) | Galaxy, Galaxy Cluster |
| Relevant Catalog(s) | All (Chron), Arp |
| Arp Category | Galaxies with material ejected from nuclei |
| Obs. Lat/Long | 42° 17', 073° 57' |
| Constellation | Camelopardalis |
| Date and Time Observed | 2026-02-24 21:30:00 |
| Instrument | EdgeHD 8" w/f7 reducer-1,422mm FL |
| Camera | Player One Apollo-M Mini |
| Image Details | Up is 266.6 degrees E of N. Transparency: Good. Seeing: Fair. Total integration time was 45m 20s. Exposures 20s@225g, no filter. Dithered and recentered in SharpCap. No guiding. |
| Description | Arp 204 is a tiny (1' x 0.3') and dim (15.8 mag) galaxy (cluster?) within 6° of the celestial pole. As usual, Arp doesn't really say except through categorizing this as galaxies with "material ejected from nuclei" - implying one galaxy with detritus. Most modern commentators suggest this is a galaxy cluster with three members connected by a prominent stellar bridge. Arp was heavily influenced by Armenian astronomer Ambartsumian to see companion galaxies formed by "ejections". In modern terminology, we'd call this ejections from AGN. But most observers don't believe these ejections appear as fully formed galaxies, and most would see this as at least two galaxies connected by a tidal tail, perhaps the result of a near miss, and possibly presaging an eventual merger. Russian astronomer Boris Vorontsov-Velyaminov created the VV catalog of interacting galaxies: he'd been given a set of the Palomar Sky Survey. (POSS) plates, an unusual "scientific exchange" in 1958 at the height of the cold war. Arp used the VV catalog as one of his inputs when selecting his Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. This was one of the few observing nights during February, 2026 and one that improved through the mid evening. |
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