Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Canes Venatici (CVn)  ·  Contains:  NGC 4485  ·  NGC 4490
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Arp 269 (2021), Gary Imm
Arp 269 (2021), Gary Imm

Arp 269 (2021)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
Arp 269 (2021), Gary Imm
Arp 269 (2021), Gary Imm

Arp 269 (2021)

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Description

This object is a pair of small wonderfully distorted interacting galaxies located 25 million light years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici. The larger galaxy is NGC 4490, while the smaller companion is NGC 4485. The galaxies are about 25,000 light years apart. Both galaxies are smaller than the typical spiral galaxy, at 20,000 and 50,000 light years in diameter. The larger galaxy spans about 6 arc-minutes in our apparent view.

Both galaxies lie within ghostly diffuse star clouds which shroud the odd disk structures. It is hard for me to imagine what the original undisturbed galaxies looked like. Scientists believe that the galaxies have already had their closest approach and are now speeding away from each other.

I find these interacting galaxies to be an amazing sight. I really like how the colors play out against each other in the image:

- White in the larger galaxy core, and also in the star clouds of the outermost reaches of both galaxies. The star cloud faintly extends far to the right of the larger galaxy.

- Blue in the numerous star clusters throughout both galaxies, which creates an eerie blue glow enveloping both distorted disk structures.

- Pink and purple in the many star forming regions, triggered by the intergalactic disturbance. The star formation areas are primarily located on the galaxy sides which face each other, in closest proximity.

- Brown in the delicate dark dust lanes which wind subtly throughout each galaxy.

It all makes for a very interesting 3-dimensional look to me. Some tiny galaxies are visible in the background.

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    Arp 269 (2021), Gary Imm
    Original
  • Arp 269 (2021), Gary Imm
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Description: Comparison to Original Arp Image

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Arp 269 (2021), Gary Imm