This
Astrobin Debut Object is a trio of galaxies located in the constellation of Hercules at a declination of +47 degrees. In his
Arp catalog, Dr. Arp classified this object into the odd category of Galaxies with Material Ejected From Nuclei.
The 2 interacting galaxies at left look like they are engaged in a death spiral. This pair of blue galaxies appears to be in the mid-stage of a merger. I don't recall too many other objects quite like this one. It looks similar to
Arp 277, although viewed from a different perspective.
Of this pair of magnitude 16 galaxies, the bottom left galaxy is MCG+08-31-010 and the top right galaxy is MCG+08-31-011. They are 420 million light years away. Each is about 80,000 light years in diameter. I love the blue color, indicative of star formation initiated by the interaction, along with the numerous star clusters. Star streams bridge the 2 galaxies.
The magnitude 17 edge-on spiral galaxy to the right is MCG+08-31-009. Data indicates that it is about the same distance away as the pair, although the absence of both disturbance and star streams for this edge-on galaxy indicates to me that it is too far away from the pair to be interacting at this time.
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