Arp Bot 🤖

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Posting images of galaxies in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies (1966). Automated account. Image curation, descriptions, typos, and most alt text by astronomer @kellylepo.bsky.social. See posts for credits and links to the original sources.

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Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· 26d

New Technology Telescope image of Arp 271, also known as NGC 5426 and NGC 5427. The mutual gravitational interaction of this pair of spiral galaxies distorts their shapes and creates a bridge of gas, dust and young stars that connect the galaxies. Credit: ESO Source

Two similar-looking spiral galaxies take up most of the frame. They both have bright, yellow-white central cores and well-defined spiral arms dotted with blue star clusters and dark dust lanes. NGC 5427 is a nearly face-on spiral galaxy at lower left. NGC 5426 is a more oblique galaxy at upper right. The two spiral arms on the upper side of NGC 5426 appear as a bridge that connects with NGC 5427. The black background of space is dotted with stars and small background galaxies.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· 26d

Hubble image of Arp 140, also known as NGC 274 and NGC 275. A barred spiral galaxy and a lenticular galaxy from an interacting pair. Lenticular galaxies have large central bulges and flattened disks like spirals, but no spiral arms. Credit: NASA, ESA, R. Foley, G. Kober Source

Two side-by-side galaxies fill the image. The left galaxy is a bright spiral galaxy bursting with blue star clusters, crossed by dark brown dust lanes. The right galaxy is a lenticular galaxy. It bright yellow-ish white center that gradually becomes more transparent, emitting a hazy glow. Distant stars and galaxies dot the background.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· 27d

Hubble image of Arp 91, also known as NGC 5953 and NGC 5954. NGC 5953 (center) and NGC 5954 (left) show clear signs of interaction. A spiral arm or tidal tail from NGC 5954 extends to the side and connects to its companion. Credit: ESA, NASA, J. Dalcanton, J. Schmidt Source

A pair of interacting spiral galaxies. The galaxy in the center appears face-on with a bright center, surrounded by swirls of dark dust filaments. The outer areas of the galaxy are filled with a haze of pale stars. To the left is its companion galaxy. The disk of this galaxy is seen at an angle, tilted so that it appears to be an oval rather than a circle. Dark dust filaments somewhat obscure the spiral structures in its disk, which is filled with star clusters. At the bottom left edge of this galaxy, the end of a spiral arm or a tidal tail appears to extend downwards, connecting to the side of its companion. At the top edge of the central galaxy is what appears to be a faint tidal tail, dotted with star clusters, perhaps a continuation of the tail from the companion galaxy. The black background of space is dotted with foreground stars and tiny background galaxies.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· 27d

Image of Arp 195, also known as UGC 4653, from Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies (1966). In the original catalog it was in the category: Amorphous galaxies - Material ejected from nuclei. Its actaully an interacting galaxy triplet. Source

A grainy, black and white image of three interacting galaxies that form a roughly horizontal line. The galaxy on the right is a face-on barred spiral. Surrounding the bar is a ring of stars. Emerging from the ends of the bar are two spiral arms that form a backward S-shape. The middle galaxy is seen as a roughly horizontal oval. It overlaps with the other two galaxies to its left and right. The galaxy on the left is perhaps a very disturbed spiral. One spiral arm begins at the bottom of the bar, and then rises up a ridiculous amount, forming a vertical line that is much taller than the galaxies. The black background of space is dotted with a few foreground stars.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· 28d

VLT image of Arp 16, also known as M66. M66 is a face-on spiral galaxy with a weak bar feature, seen in yellow, and loosely wound arms that are full of young, blue star clusters. Credit: ESO, P. Barthel Source

A nearly face-on barred spiral galaxy anchored by its central region. It has a bright yellow circular area surrounded by a lighter yellow diagonal bar structure made of a haze of stars, which forms an angled oval toward the top. Two distinct spiral arms made of a haze of white stars, blue star clusters, and brown filamentary dust lanes start at the center and extend outward, rotating clockwise. The galaxy is tilted slightly, so it forms an oval shape, rather than a circle. The background of space is black. There are some dots of light surrounding the galaxy, which are foreground stars.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· 28d

JWST and Hubble image of Arp 142, also known as NGC 2936 and NGC 2937, or the Penguin and the Egg. In Hubble’s visible light image (left) a dark brown dust lane crosses the Penguin. In Webb’s near-infrared view (right), this dust is fainter. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Source

Frame is split down the middle: Hubble’s visible light image at left, and Webb’s near-infrared image at right. Both show the Egg at left and the Penguin at right. In Hubble’s view, the Penguin is highly detailed, with a bright blue beak, body, and tail that is covered in an arc of bright brown dust. The Egg, to its left, appears bright, gleaming yellowish white. At top right is another galaxy seen from the side, about as long as the Egg’s height. Dozens of galaxies and stars appear in the background. Webb’s near-infrared image shows the Penguin’s beak, head, and back in shades of pink. It’s tail-like region is more diffuse, and a mix of lighter pinks and blues. The Egg appears slightly larger in blue layers. A semi-transparent blue forms an upside down U over top of both galaxies. At top right, an edge-on galaxy has many more pinpricks of light, which are stars. Thousands of galaxies and stars appear in the background. Some galaxies are shades of orange, while others are white.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· 29d

Image of Arp 104, also known as NGC 5216 and NGC 5218, or Keenan’s System, from Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies (1966). In the original catalog it was in the category: Elliptical galaxies - Connected to spiral galaxies. Source

A grainy, black and white image of two galaxies connected by a long, thin stream of gas and stars that form a vertical line. The first galaxy, at the bottom of the frame, appears to be a disturbed spiral galaxy. It has a swirling disk made of a haze of stars accented by faint dust lanes. A long, thin, translucent line, made of a haze of stars and gas, connects the top of the top galaxy to the bottom of its companion above. The second galaxy is near the top of the frame. It is roughly circular and has a bright, center that gradually fades out and becomes more translucent near its edges. The thin line of stars and gas appears to emerge from the top of the galaxy, arcing slightly down as it exits. A few white dots, which are stars, are seen on the black background of space.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 12

Hubble and Pan-STARRS image of Arp 6, also known as NGC 2537 or the Bear’s Paw Galaxy. The horseshoe structure may be the result of a shockwave from a nuclear starburst. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Dalcanton, Judy Schmidt, PanSTARRS Source

A galaxy with a line-like nucleus and a horseshoe-shaped arc above it. The horseshoe points down, and the nucleus is in the center of the arc. It looks like an upside down power symbol, ⏻. The nucleus and horseshoe are dotted with bright blue star clusters and dark dust lanes.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 12

Hubble image of Arp 81, also known as NGC 6621 and NGC 6622. A recent encounter between NGC 6621 (right) and NGC 6622 (left) pulled a long tail out of NGC 6621 that wraps behind the galaxy. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI Source

Two galaxies that are in the process of merging sit side by side. The first, to the left, shows a vertical bar structure, surrounded by a haze of older, yellow stars. The galaxy's core is partially obscured by a swirl of dark brown dust. The galaxy overlaps with its companion to the right, and there is a small area of blue star clusters where the two galaxies meet. The galaxy on the right is a disturbed spiral galaxy. The remnants of two spiral arms form a backward S-shape. The right arm continues into a large fish-hook shaped tidal tail. The tail trails off to the right, then curves over the spiral galaxy and extends all the way to its companion galaxy on the left. The tail is dotted with blue star clusters. The portion of the tail that curves upwards, the bend in the fish hook, is partially obscured with brown clumps of dust.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 11

Herschel image of Arp 26, also known as M101 or the Pinwheel Galaxy. This far-infrared and sub-millimeter wavelength light highlights the galaxy's cold, glowing dust. The blue dots are areas of star formation. Credit: ESA, Herschel, NASA, JPL-Caltech; R. Hurt Source

A somewhat low-res image of a face-on spiral galaxy in shades of yellow, orange, and red. From a small central core, several arms spiral clockwise. They are defined by a network of filamentary dust lanes, which look somewhat like a cross section of a nautilus. The arms are dotted with blue-green star-forming regions. One spiral arm curls from about 6 o'clock to 9 o'clock and is mostly separated from the body of the galaxy. Another arm curves from 1 o'clock to 6 o'clock. The other arms are less distinct.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 10

Hubble image of Arp 219, also known as UGC 2812. Interactions with a companion likely formed these loops of material. In this image, the luminosity comes from Hubble observations, and color from PanSTARRS. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Dalcanton, Judy Schmidt, PanSTARRS Source

A distorted galaxy with looping tidal tails. In the center of the frame is a galaxy with a bright yellow center. A dark brown dust lane divides the bright center of the galaxy in two. It's hard to tell if this dust is blocking a continuous bright area or if there are two distinct nuclei. The disk of the galaxy surrounds the center, probably seen nearly edge-on, made of a haze of older yellow stars. At the left and right edges of the disk are blue clusters of younger stars. One stream of gas and stars, a tidal tail, starts at the left edge of the disk, loops under the galaxy, and connects with the bottom right edge of the disk. A second stream of gas begins at the top right edge of the disk, loops over the galaxy, and then connects to the top left edge of the disk. Together, these two tidal tails form a rough ring shape. Another fainter tidal tail starts at the apex of the top arc and continues diagonally up and to the left. A smaller galaxy, an almost edge-on spiral, is below and to the left of the central galaxy.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 10

Hubble image of Arp 55, also known as UGC 4881. This pair of galaxies is about halfway through a merger. Their cores are separate, but their disks are overlapping. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI Source

In the center of the frame are two merging galaxies that form a C-shape that looks a little like a curled up shrimp. In the center of the C, or the body of the shrimp, is the remnants of one galaxy's nucleus, partially obscured by a swirl of dust and blue star clusters. At the top of the C, or the head of the shrimp, is the second galaxy nucleus. A haze of older yellow stars and dust appears above the second nucleus. At the other end of the remnant, a thin tail of blue star clusters trails off to the right. At the end of the tail, another dusty haze of yellow stars, curves back upwards towards the shrimp's "head". Two other spiral galaxies appear separated from the merging galaxies in the lower left corner of the frame. The black background of space is dotted with tiny background galaxies and foreground stars.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 9

Hubble Space Telescope image of Arp 2, also known as UGC 10310. The Establishing HST's Low Redshift Archive of Interacting Systems snapshot program filled in Hubble schedule gaps with short observations, like this one. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, J. Dalcanton, Judy Schmidt Source

$A greyscale image of a galaxy. The galaxy's stars and gas form a loose two-armed spiral with a central bar. In the background are a few small, distant galaxies. In the bottom right is a tiny background two-armed barred spiral galaxy. In the foreground are a few stars with Hubble's four-pointed diffraction spikes.$

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 9

Hubble image of Arp 186, also known as NGC 1614. NGC 1614 is likely the remnant of a tidal interaction and the resulting merger of two galaxies — a large spiral and a much smaller companion. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI Source

A nearly face-on distributed spiral galaxy a bright center and two clear, blue-white inner spiral arms that are fairly symmetrical. It also has a spectacular outer structure that consists principally of a large one-sided curved extension of one of these arms to the lower right, and a long, almost straight tail that emerges from the nucleus and crosses the extended arm to the upper right. These outer arms are made of a haze of dust and yellow stars, and are dotted with blue star clusters.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 8

Very Large Telescope image of Arp 271, also known as NGC 5426 and NGC 5427. The galaxies are tugging on each other with gravity, which has begun to distort their features and may have also triggered bursts of star formation. Credit: ESO Source

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 7

Hubble image of Arp 194, also known as UGC 6945. This interacting galaxy group includes a pair of merging galaxies with two nuclei and trails of blue super star clusters at top and a single large spiral galaxy at bottom. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team Source

A group of three interacting spiral galaxies which resembles a question mark. At the top of the frame are two spiral galaxies in the process of merging. One of these galaxies has a bright yellow core connected to a short bar and two loose spiral arms. This forms a S-shape. Above this is another circular, yellow galaxy core which overlaps with the top spiral arm of the S-shaped galaxy. On the outer edges of the spiral arms are blue star clusters. Together these form the top curved half of the question mark. To the right of the S-shaped galaxy is a small, relatively normal-looking spiral galaxy, which is likely in the background. At the bottom of the frame is another large spiral galaxy. This galaxy has a bright core and somewhat ill-defined spiral arms which wind counterclockwise around the core. On the bottom half of the galaxy are blue star clusters. This forms the dot of the question mark. Connecting the merging galaxies at the top of the frame and the spiral at the bottom of the frame is a string of blue super star clusters, seen as large blue dots. This forms the straight part of the question mark. On the black background of space are several yellow and red dots, which are background galaxies.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 7

Hubble Space Telescope image of Arp 23, also known as NGC 4618. NGC 4618 is a single-armed barred spiral galaxy. Its unusual shape may come from gravitational interactions with a neighboring galaxy NGC 4625, which is just out of frame. Credit: ESA, NASA, I. Karachentsev Source

A close up, face-on view of a barred spiral galaxy. The large central bar structure is made of a haze of yellowish orange stars arranged in an oval that is wider than it is long. Beginning from the left edge of the bar a single arm spirals counterclockwise from the 9 o'clock to the 3 o'clock positions. It is made up primarily of clusters of blue stars.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 6

Hubble image of Arp 91, also known as NGC 5953 and NGC 5954. NGC 5953 (center) and NGC 5954 (top) show clear signs of interaction. A spiral arm or tidal tail from NGC 5954 extends to the side and connects to its companion. Credit: ESA, NASA, J. Dalcanton, J. Schmidt Source

A pair of interacting spiral galaxies. The galaxy in the center appears face-on with a bright yellow center, surrounded by swirls of brown dust filaments. The outer areas of the galaxy are filled with a haze of pale yellow stars. Above and slightly to the right is its companion galaxy. The disk of this galaxy is seen at an angle, tilted so that it appears to be an oval rather than a circle. Dark brown dust filaments somewhat obscure the spiral structures in its disk, which is filled with blue star clusters and pink star forming regions. At the left edge of this galaxy, the end of a spiral arm or a tidal tail appears to extend downwards, connecting to the top of its companion. At the right edge of the central galaxy is what appears to be a faint tidal tail, dotted with blue star clusters, perhaps a continuation of the tail from the companion galaxy. The black background of space is dotted with foreground stars and tiny background galaxies.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 6

Gran Telescopio Canarias image of Arp 30, also known as NGC 6365. Arp thought this was one galaxy with a particularly beefy arm. Later images show this is actually a pair of interacting galaxies, with one galaxy viewed face-on and one viewed nearly edge-on. Credit: GTC, IAC Source

A pair of spiral galaxies, one seen nearly edge-on and one seen face-on. The face-on spiral to the right has a bright yellow central core and two well-defined spiral arms that loop counterclockwise around the galaxy. The inner parts of the spiral arms are yellow, while the outer arms fan out into blue stars and star clusters. One spiral arm begins at about 6 o'clock, curls around to the top of the galaxy at 12 o'clock and then ends at the bottom of the galaxy around 6 o'clock. The second arm begins at around 9 o'clock and curls around, ending at the top of the galaxy around 12 o'clock. The nearly edge-on galaxy to the left overlaps at the top of the face-on galaxy, appearing like a continuation of the face-on galaxy's second spiral arm. It's disk is tilted, so it appears as a long, thin oval rather than a circle. The galaxy also has a yellow central core and an outer edge dotted with blue star clusters. In the black background of space are a few other colorful dots, which are foreground stars or background galaxies.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 5

Legacy Surveys DR9 image of Arp 301, also known as UGC 6204 and UGC 6207. In this interacting pair of spiral galaxies, UGC 6207 is the edge-on galaxy to the left and UGC 6204 is the face-on barred spiral to the right. Credit: Legacy Surveys, D. Lang, NERSC Source

A somewhat grainy image of a pair of interacting spiral galaxies. The two galaxies appear to be almost touching, making a V shape. The galaxy on the left is seen edge-on. A bright central core bulges out slightly and is crossed by a dark dust lane. The disk of the galaxy is seen as a line, dotted with blue star clusters. A hazy bit of material rises almost perpendicular to the disk at the upper end, the top of the V, and points towards its companion galaxy. The right galaxy is seen face-on. It has a bright yellow core and horizontal bar, which is crossed by dark dust lanes. Two spiral arms emerge from the ends of the bar, creating a sideways S shape. They are dotted by teal star clusters. Additional blue stars and star clusters fill in the disk and a swirl of hazy material connects back to its companion galaxy. Other distant galaxies and stars fill the black background of space.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 5

Gemini South image of Arp 222, also known as NGC 7727. About a billion years ago, a smaller, galaxy collided and merged with NGC 7727, creating the swirling loops of material seen in its outskirts. Credit: International Gemini Observatory, NOIRLab, NSF, AURA Source

A chaotic, swirling galaxy merger remnant fills the frame. At the center is a cream-colored cat's eye shape, surrounded by a swirling haze of gas and stars. Emerging from this roughly circular central region are large tidal tails that loop around the galaxy several times. They look a little like a diagram of electrons orbiting an atom at different angles. The tidal tails are a translucent yellow-white color on their edges with a line of blue in their centers. The right side of one of the inner loops is streaked with red gas and dark brown dust. The black background of space is dotted with stars and small background galaxies.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 4

Hubble image of Arp 157, also known as NGC 520. Two disk galaxies began colliding about 300 million years ago, forming the mess that is NGC 520. The disks of the two original galaxies have merged together, but the nuclei have not yet coalesced. Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI Source

A galaxy merger forms an amorphous shape, with a band of dark dust silhouetted on top of blue white stars. In the center of the frame is a haze of stars that forms a squished X-shape. The stars are densest in the center, becoming a faint, fuzzy halo near the edges. A thick, dark band of brown dust crosses the center of the frame, curving slightly downwards. A few tiny background galaxies and foreground stars are seen near the edges of the frame.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 4

Image of Arp 147, also known as IC 298, from Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies (1966). In the original catalog it was in the category: Amorphous galaxies - Associated rings. The right galaxy's ring formed when its companion hit its center. Source

A grainy, black-and-white image of two ring-like galaxies. On the left is a galaxy with a bright core surrounded by a ring. There is a gap between the core and ring where the black background of space shows through. The galaxy is tilted so that the circular ring appears oval-shaped. On the right is a another circular galaxy, made mostly of a ring of bright dots, which are star clusters. The center of the ring is empty and the black background of space shows through. Together, the galaxies look like the number 10.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 3

Image of Arp 202, also known as NGC 2719 and NGC 2719A, from Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies (1966). In the original catalog it was in the category: Amorphous galaxies - Material ejected from nuclei. Arp 202 is an interacting galaxy pair. Source

A grainy, black and white image of two galaxies. Both are overexposed, so that there is no detail apparent in the interiors of the galaxies. At the center of the frame, running diagonally from lower right to upper left is a disk galaxy seen edge-on. To the left, aligned with the bottom edge of the disk galaxy, is a second smaller galaxy that is irregular but roughly circular. A faint line extends upwards from where the two galaxies meet. A few white dots, which are stars, are seen on the black background.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 3

Image of Arp 70, also known as UGC 934, from Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies (1966). In the original catalog it was in the category: Spiral galaxies - Small, high surface brightness companions. The large galaxy interacts with its companion. Source

A grainy, black and white image of a pair of interacting galaxies. The large barred spiral on the right takes up about half of the frame. It has a bright center that transitions into a nearly horizontal bar structure. Two spiral arms begin at the ends of the bar. Together the arms and the bar form an S-shape. A tear-dropped shaped loop surrounds the bar and connects the inner parts of the two spiral arms. The bottom spiral arm extends much farther than the upper spiral arm. Near the bottom of the frame the bottom arm curves back up and points to its companion galaxy. In the center left, above the larger galaxy, is a much smaller galaxy, seen as a featureless oval. The black background of space is filled with dots, which are foreground stars and background galaxies.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 2

Sloan Digital Sky Survey image of Arp 6, also known as NGC 2537 or the Bear’s Paw Galaxy. The horseshoe structure may be the result of a shockwave from a nuclear starburst. Credit: Sloan Digital Sky Survey Source

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 2

Sloan Digital Sky Survey image of Arp 285, also known as NGC 2854 and NGC 2856. This pair of galaxies is connected by a bridge of material, indicating a past interaction. The upper galaxy, NGC 2856, also has a clumpy tail perpendicular to its disk. Credit: SDSS Source

$A somewhat low-res image of a pair of widely-space interacting spiral galaxies. The galaxy in the top left has a bright disk seen at a slight angle so that it appears oval-shaped. Its spiral arms are fainter and hard to see. A thin, blue, clumpy line extends above the galaxy, perpendicular to its disk. The galaxy in the lower right has a strong bar and two spiral arms, forming a distinct S shape. The bar is brighter and yellow-ish. The arms are bluer and dotted with teal star clusters. Faint streams of blue material extend outwards from the ends of the spiral arms. The top stream almost connects with the galaxy in the top left. Several foreground stars are seen as bright points with eight diffraction spikes. The black background of space is dotted with stars and small background galaxies$

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 1

GALEX image of Arp 286, also known as NGC 5560, NGC 5566, and NGC 5569. Ultraviolet light shows the youngest, hottest stars in this interacting galaxy triplett. NGC 5566 is at center, NGC 5569 at bottom left, and NGC 5560 at top left. Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech Source

The frame is dominated by three spiral galaxies in shades of yellow and blue. The largest is at the center of the frame. The disk of the galaxy is tilted, so that it appears oval-shaped, with the long axis running diagonally from upper right to lower left. It has a bright yellow center, surrounded by a ring structure. Emerging from the ring are two spiral arms, defined by blue star clusters. The arms for a tiled, backward S-shape. At the bottom left is a smaller face-on spiral galaxy. Unlike the other two galaxies in the group, this galaxy does not appear distorted. It has a small core, surrounded by loose spiral arms that are filled with blue star clusters. At upper left is a distorted spiral galaxy seen nearly edge-on. Its disk is warped, forming a thin, nearly vertical, backward S-shape.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jul 1

Very Large Telescope image of Arp 222, also known as NGC 7727. The swirling loops of material seen in NGC 7727 are the remnants of a galactic merger that started around a billion years ago, when a smaller, gas-rich young galaxy fell into a larger galaxy. Credit: ESO Source

A chaotic, swirling galaxy merger remnant fills the frame. At the center is a white cat's eye shape, surrounded by a haze of gas and stars. Emerging from this roughly circular central region are large, faint, white tidal tails that loop around the galaxy several times. One long tail emerges at about 9 o'clock and travels vertically up from the galaxy. The inner loops are streaked with purple gas and dark brown dust. The black background of space is dotted with stars and small background galaxies.

Arp Bot 🤖@arpbot· Jun 30

Very Large Telescope image of Arp 271, also known as NGC 5426 and NGC 5427. This pair of interacting galaxies was the final image captured by the VIsible Multi-Object Spectrograph (VIMOS) instrument before it was decommissioned in 2018. Credit: ESO, Juan Carlos Muñoz Source