This galaxy trio is located in the constellation of Virgo at a declination of +3 degrees. This trio is less than one degree south of the more famous
Arp 286 trio.
Are the galaxies in this image interacting? I think that 2 of them are.
At the bottom center of the image, NGC 5576 is the largest and brightest galaxy in the frame. It is a magnitude 11 galaxy about 80 million light years away which spans 4 arc-minutes in our apparent view. This corresponds to a diameter of 100,000 light years.
Just below it is the smaller spiral galaxy, NGC 5574. The data shows it to be about 5 million light years closer than NGC 5576, but the error band of the accuracy of these distance calculations is such that these galaxies could be about the same distance away. I think that these 2 galaxies are interacting – the star halos around them are not symmetric and appear to be influencing each other as part of the same plume. Also, the disk of NGC 5574 appears to be slightly asymmetric as well.
At the top, NGC 5577 is about 20 million light years closer and is almost certainly not interacting with other 2 galaxies. I like its flocculent disk with hints of arm structure, as well as the colors seen in the galaxy. Blue star clouds are seen at the upper left outer edge of the disk.
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