This object, also known as NGC 5579, is a 3-armed barred spiral galaxy located 170 million light years away in the constellation of Bootes at a declination of +35 degrees. This magnitude 14 galaxy spans 2 arc-minutes in our apparent view, which corresponds to a diameter of 100,000 light years. Our viewing angle of this galaxy is about 45 degrees, halfway between edge-on and face-on.
In his
Arp catalog, Dr. Arp classified this object into the category of Spiral Galaxies with Small, High Surface Brightness Companions on Arms.
The structure of this galaxy disk is severely disturbed. The arms have been wildly distorted into appearing as 3 distinct arms, with bright blue star clusters scattered throughout. The yellow core is significantly offset from the center.
One possible reason for the distortion is a possible companion, seen below NGC 5579. Data shows that this magnitude 17 spiral galaxy (LEDA 214249) lies about the same distance away. This would be a nice convenient fit to explain the disturbance. The problem is that such a distance would mean that this galaxy is only 17,000 light years in diameter, which is not logical given its structure seen in the image. Plus, this small galaxy is undisturbed. So I believe that this is a distant galaxy and not a companion, despite what the redshift data says.
If that is true, there is no convenient explanation for the disturbance, leaving us with more questions than answers. Which is pretty typical for these objects. I would normally say here that the disturbance culprit has likely already been absorbed into the subject galaxy, but that is only speculation on my part and you have already heard that explanation from me many times before.
The galaxy cluster in the upper left corner is over 2 billion light years away.
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