Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Virgo (Vir)  ·  Contains:  NGC 4435  ·  NGC 4438  ·  The Eyes
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The Eyes NGC 4435 and 4438 (Arp 120), Jerry Yesavage
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The Eyes NGC 4435 and 4438 (Arp 120)

Getting plate-solving status, please wait...
The Eyes NGC 4435 and 4438 (Arp 120), Jerry Yesavage
Powered byPixInsight

The Eyes NGC 4435 and 4438 (Arp 120)

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Discussion the GHS Group about the proper use of BlurXterminator, after stretching... seems to be a clipping of dark pixels with BlurX that I did not notice before.  This was first discussed in the previous images I processed, the Splinter and NGC 5033.  Again I confirmed the finding.  Alan has a nice comment on 5033 and the possibility of using masking.  He suggested a range mask, which I used to clean the final image  I did protect the main image here with GAME during noise reduction.... all this is very tricky at least for me.

Color enhanced with 3D LUT... notorious Indian Summer LUT

Also tested exposure length for the ASI-6200 and 40s was superior to 60s in terms of star count.  This just used the 40s and I think it worked. 

From Wikipedia:

The Eyes Galaxies (NGC 4435-NGC 4438, also known as Arp 120) are a pair of galaxies about [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1_E22_m]52 million[/url] light-years away in the constellationVirgo. The pair are members of the string of galaxies known as Markarian's Chain.

NGC 4435 is a barredlenticular galaxy currently interacting with NGC 4438. Studies of the galaxy by the Spitzer Space Telescope revealed a relatively young (190 million years) stellar population within the galaxy's nucleus, which may have originated through the interaction with NGC 4438 compressing gas and dust in that region, triggering a starburst.=reference[1] It also appears to have a long tidal tail possibly caused by the interaction;=reference[2] however, other studies suggest the apparent tail is actually foreground [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_cirrus]galactic cirrus[/url] within the Milky Way unrelated to NGC 4435.=reference[3]

NGC 4438 is the most curious interacting galaxy in the Virgo Cluster, due to the uncertainty surrounding the energy mechanism that heats the nuclear source; this energy mechanism may be a [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starburst_(astronomy)]starburst[/url] region, or a black hole-powered active galactic nucleus (AGN). Both hypotheses are currently under investigation by astronomers.This galaxy shows a highly distorted [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galactic_disk]disk[/url], including long tidal tails due to the gravitational [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interacting_galaxies]interactions with other galaxies in the cluster and its companion[/url]. The aforementioned features explain why sources differ as to its classification, defining it either as a lenticular or spiral galaxy. NGC 4438 also shows signs of a past, extended - but modest - starburst,=reference[4] a considerable deficiency of [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutral_hydrogen]neutral hydrogen[/url], as well as a displacement of the components of its interstellar medium - atomic hydrogen, [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_hydrogen]molecular hydrogen[/url], [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstellar_dust]interstellar dust[/url], and hot gas - in the direction of NGC 4435. This observation suggests both a tidal interaction with NGC 4435 and the effects of [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram-pressure_stripping]ram-pressure stripping[/url]=reference[5] as NGC 4438 moves at high speed through Virgo's intracluster medium, increased by the encounter between both galaxies.=reference[6]=reference[7]

While there is evidence to suggest that the environmental damage to the interstellar medium of NGC 4438 may have been caused by an off-center collision with NGC 4435 millions of years ago, a recent discovery of several filaments of [url=mw-redirect=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HII_region]ionized gas[/url] links NGC 4438 with the large neighboring elliptical galaxy Messier 86,=reference[8] in addition to a discovery of gas and dust within M86 that may have been stripped from NGC 4438 during a past encounter between the two.=reference[9]=reference[10] Given the high density of galaxies in the center of the Virgo galaxy cluster, it is possible that the three galaxies, NGC 4435, NGC 4438, and M86, have had past interactions.=reference[11]

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The Eyes NGC 4435 and 4438 (Arp 120), Jerry Yesavage

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