This is the collision of NGC 3226 (top) and NGC 3227. It seems to be pulling a heck of a lot of reddish dust out of NGC 3227 helping to turn it into an S0 galaxy in the "near" future. The tidal wings are what caught Arp's eye however. Notes at NED say 3227 is a Seyfert galaxy but disagree on it being a 1 1.5 or 2. NED puts the pair at 66 million light years. Near the center on the right edge is NGC 3222 at 260 million light years.

Down and left of 3222 are more galaxies. The bright pair, one a spiral, the other rather featureless are another interacting pair at a half billion light years according to notes at NED. 2MASX J10224741+1947305 ID is the spiral and CGCG 1020.1+2002 the featureless one. Note the faint tidal tail from the 2MASX galaxy. Kind of neat to see a tidal tail at that distance with amateur size equipment.

The asteroid to the upper left is (111629) 2002 AZ137 at magnitude 19.7 and the one to the lower left is (176092) 2000 YK108 at magnitude 19.8. Caught at the end of retrograde motion they have very short, highly tilted trails. The upper asteroid is in the faint tidal tail come "up" from NGC 3226. I took this through some nasty moonlight so getting any more of the tails was not possible. I'll try a lot more exposure time next year and they should show better.

A less compressed version is at:
http://www.spacebanter.com/attachmen...tid=1915&stc=1

14" LX200R, L=4x10', RGB=2x10', STL-11000XM, Paramount ME

Rick

Attached Images

NGC3226-7ARP94L4X10RGB2X10X3-7.jpg (132.4 KB, 47 views)

Not suprising Arp's interest in the tidal arms. They are beautiful and extensive. You have done a great job capturing these.

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Kind regards
Matt
LXD75 SN 8" f/4, DSI II pro

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but rather, "hmm.... that's funny...."
Issac Asimov

...what a beautiful pair of interactive galaxies, Rick!
another great shot!
very good colors and well balanced!

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best regards,
Dietmar
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www.stargazer-observatory.com

Again, a really beautiful image!!! thank u Rick.

Dennis

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Your theory is crazy, but it's not crazy enough to be true. -- Niels Bohr --

Ipsa scientia potestas est. ~ Knowledge itself is power.---- Bacon
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Ad eundum quo nemo ante iit.


Hint: this is at heart a scientific forum, and underneath the fooling around there are some diamond-hard minds hanging about, ready to tear you to shreads. -- mike alexander --

Beautiful detail, great processing, just a fabulous image.

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Observatorio de la Ballona

Rick what can i say-Just beautiful!, Pretty filled with galaxies all over. and with fine details. Looking forward to see more! Clear Skies my friend