Observation by David Davies: A twisted galaxy but not an Arp

Uploaded by

David Davies

Observer

David Davies

Observed

2021 Dec 06 - 00:00

Uploaded

2021 Dec 15 - 17:06

Objects

NGC2146

Planetarium overlay

Enable overlay
Show stars
Label stars
Show deep sky objects
Label deep sky objects
Show constellation boundaries
Show constellation sticks
Show constellation labels
Show RA/Dec grid

Constellation

Camelopardalis

Field centre

RA: 06^h19^m
Dec: +78°22'
Position angle: -1°07'

Field size

0°17' × 0°13'

Equipment

8-inch Ritchey-Chretien
QSI 683
Skywatcher EQ8

Exposure

38 x 300s Lum, 15 x 300s RGB

Location

Cambridge, UK

Target name

NGC 2146

Title

A twisted galaxy but not an Arp

About this image

I decided to have a closer look at this galaxy after observing it during a live EAA session for the Cambridge IOA. I was intrigued by its twisted presentation and was surprised to discover that it is not listed in the Arp Atlas of peculiar galaxies. From what I have read, it seems that the cause of the twisted presentation of this galaxy is not fully understood. Some have proposed that a close encounter with a nearby galaxy, NGC 2146A, is the cause of the disturbances but the large difference in their radial velocity doesn't support this hypothesis. Moreover, radio-based observations show little evidence of the disturbances we see in the optical wavelengths. Perhaps, what we are looking at is a post-merger state, two galaxies, now one.

In terms of data gathering, I have been following my more recent practice of gathering as much data as weather conditions allow and took full advantage of breaks in the weather over several consecutive evenings.

Note the mag 16.8 galaxy to the bottom left.

Files associated with this observation

NGC2146_LRGB_crop.jpg (890.9 kB)

Like this image

Ron Arbour, Grant Privett, Martina McGovern, Alan Thomas, Manolo_Rodriguez, Tim Haymes, Nik Szymanek, Peter Tickner, Callum Potter

Copyright of all images and other observations submitted to the BAA remains with the owner of the work. Reproduction of work by third parties is expressly forbidden without the consent of the copyright holder. By submitting images to this online gallery, you grant the BAA permission to reproduce them in any of our publications.

Registered charity no. 210769
Registered company no. 117572

For more information including contact details, click here.

Our Terms of Use are here.

Our Privacy Policy is here.