Arp87
Galaxy in Leo
About
In Leo, two galaxies swing past each other: NGC 3808A and NGC 3808B, roughly 300 to 330 million light-years away depending on the source. Arp filed it under spirals that have big, bright companions. Hubble images show a twisted bridge of gas and stars joining the two, and a ring of material around one of them set at right angles to its disk.
Imaging tips
- Sources give about 2.5′ × 0.8′, so it is too small to frame: use a long focal length and a fine pixel scale.
- Faint at 24.7 mag/arcsec², so plan many hours of broadband data; the galaxies suit broadband rather than narrowband.
- Best around February to April; it peaks near 62° altitude from 50°N.
Facts
- Size
- 3′ × 2′
- Magnitude
- 14.1
- Coordinates
- RA 11h 40.7m, Dec +22° 26′
- Framing, APS-C
- longer than 4000 mm
- Framing, full frame
- longer than 4000 mm
- Best months
- Feb, Mar, Apr
- Peak altitude
- 62° from 50°N, 77° from 35°N