NGC 3226 and NGC 3227, Galaxies in Leo: April 2021 Observer’s Challenge Report #147
MONTHLY OBSERVER’S CHALLENGE
Compiled by:
Roger Ivester, North Carolina
&
Sue French, New York
April 2021
Report #147
NGC 3226 & NGC 3227, Galaxies in Leo
“Sharing Observations and Bringing Amateur Astronomers Together“
This month’s target
William Herschel discovered this interacting galaxy pair on 15 February 1784 with his 18.7-inch speculum-metal reflector. His hand-written journal of the discovery reads: “Two nebulae almost close together. Perhaps 1½ or 2′ asunder, they are pretty considerable in size, and of a roundish form; but not cometic; they are very faint.” He also notes that on this night he first used: “A new, large object Speculum. It is very bright but not quite as distinct as my first, I shall however use it all the night.”
Together known as Arp 94, NGC 3226 and NGC 3227 are wedded in a gravitational dance 47.2 ± 0.2 million light-years away from us. Their complex dance has spawned a remarkable array of tidal tails as well as one tidal dwarf galaxy — a gravitationally bound condensation of gas and stars formed during the repeated encounters of the two parent galaxies.
The most recent journal paper on this captivating system can be perused here: https://www.aanda.org/articles/aa/full_html/2021/01/aa38955-20/aa38955-20.html
Observer’s Challenge Complete Report:
April 2021 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE _NGC 3226_NGC 3227
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