Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Libra (Lib)
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Arp 261, Gary Imm
Arp 261, Gary Imm

Arp 261

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Arp 261, Gary Imm
Arp 261, Gary Imm

Arp 261

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Description

This object is a pair of interacting galaxies located 85 million light years away in the constellation of Libra at a declination of -10 degrees. In his Arp catalog, Dr. Arp classified this object into the category of Galaxies with Irregular Clumps. This peculiar object is a worthy entry to Dr. Arp’s Peculiar Galaxy catalog.

The bright galaxy at lower right is MCG-02-38-016 and its companion to the upper left is MCG-02-38-017. Each galaxy spans about 1.5 arc-minutes in our apparent view, which corresponds to a length of 40,000 light years.

I love the 2 distinct star bridges between these 2 blue galaxies. Star clouds are seen throughout each galaxy, especially in the bottom one. I don’t think I have ever seen an object quite like this one.

The irregular galaxy at the top of the image is LEDA 52943. It is a similar distance away as Arp 261.

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