This object is a spiral galaxy located 170 million light years away in the constellation of Aries at a declination of +11 degrees. This galaxy spans 4 arc-minutes in our apparent view, which corresponds to a diameter of 170,000 light years. We are seeing it about 20 degrees from edge-on.
I love the double rings of this galaxy – a mid-region bright ring surrounded by a much larger and fainter outer ring. The two rings are at slightly different angles from each other.
This galaxy was classified by Dr. Arp into the Galaxies – Miscellaneous category. One of many odd categorizations by Dr. Arp, and there is little to help us decipher it. This galaxy looks among the least peculiar of the Arps galaxies. His notes say “thin, circular arms” so perhaps the thin outer ring is what merited its inclusion in the catalog.
Sometimes the most interesting aspect of an image is the smallest detail. I am referring to the faint nebulosity surrounding the bright star below Arp 333. I thought it was just some kind of artifact, but you can see that it also shows up in Arp’s image. It may not be associated with the star. It could be a small dwarf background galaxy, but the shape looks too distinct for that. Another great mystery to solve someday– one of my favorite things about this hobby. I will include this one in my
Mysteries & Oddities Collection.
A number of other interesting, more distant galaxies are also visible in the frame.
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