This
Astrobin Debut Object, also known as UGC 10770, is a pair of small dwarf galaxies located 50 million light years away in the constellation of Draco at a declination of +59 degrees. Each galaxy is only about 15,000 light years in diameter. The bottom galaxy is LEDA 59804, a magnitude 14 galaxy. The top galaxy is LEDA 59864, a magnitude 17 galaxy.
In his
Arp catalog, Dr. Arp classified this object into the category of Spiral Galaxies – Integral Sign. As we have seen in other cases for such "nearby" objects, Dr. Arp and the 200 inch Palomar scope does a nice job of resolving individual star clusters in these galaxies.
The structure of this object is interesting. The small bright object at the center is a foreground star (SBSS 1712+593), described in SIMBAD as a hot subdwarf star. Fainter small whitish star regions are at the center of each galaxy. Towards the top of the lower galaxy is the most interesting feature, a bright blue star cluster region.
The key question is whether these 2 galaxies are interacting. Although the data shows them to be at the same distance, there is always some uncertainty in these distance estimates. I am surprised that there is not more disturbance seen in the galaxy structures. My guess is that they are interacting based on the slight curvature of the lower galaxy, but that this interaction is not yet strong.
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