Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Leo (Leo)  ·  Contains:  NGC 2944
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Arp 63 (with Arp 129), Gary Imm
Arp 63 (with Arp 129), Gary Imm

Arp 63 (with Arp 129)

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Arp 63 (with Arp 129), Gary Imm
Arp 63 (with Arp 129), Gary Imm

Arp 63 (with Arp 129)

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Description

This image captures a pair of Arp objects, both located 320 million light years away in the constellation of Leo at a declination of +32 degrees. This pair is one of the closest pairs of Arp objects in the sky. The bottom object is Arp 63 and the top object is Arp 129.

Arp 63 appears to consist of three galaxies. The central spiral, NGC 2944, seems to have a companion (LEDA 1990710) on the lower left side as well as another companion (2MASXI J0939167+321838 ) on the right side. This object was classified by Dr. Arp into the category of Spiral Galaxies with Small, High Surface Brightness Companions on Arms.

The central spiral is about 90,000 light years in diameter, which each companion is roughly 30,000 light years in diameter. A star stream cloud envelops the entire object. Based on the deformations and star streams, it looks to me that all 3 galaxies are interacting.

Arp 129 is also known as UGC 5146. The right galaxy of Arp 129 is the spiral galaxy MCG+6-21-71. The left galaxy is the lenticular galaxy MCG+6-21-72. Each galaxy has a diameter of 90,000 light years. This object was classified by Dr. Arp into the category of Elliptical Galaxies Close to and Perturbing Spirals. The view is complicated by the magnitude 12.4 star (TYC 2501-1361-1) in front of the right galaxy. My Astrobin image post which focuses on Arp 129 is here.

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