APOD: Arp 286: Trio in Virgo (2010 Aug 13)

[APOD Robot]

Arp 286: Trio in Virgo

Explanation: A remarkable telescopic composition in yellow and blue, this scene features a trio of interacting galaxies almost 90 million light-years away, toward the constellation Virgo. On the left, two, spiky, foreground Milky Way stars echo the trio galaxy hues, a reminder that stars in our own galaxy are like those in the distant island universes. Predominately yellow, with sweeping spiral arms and dust lanes, NGC 5566, is enormous, about 150,000 light-years across. Just below it lies small, blue NGC 5569. Near center, the third galaxy, NGC 5560, is multicolored and apparently stretched and distorted by its interaction with NGC 5566. The galaxy trio is also included in Halton Arp's 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 286. Of course, such cosmic interactions are now appreciated as a common part of the evolution of galaxies.

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[Ann]

Beautiful! This is exactly the kind of astronomy picture that I like. I can see that it is a true-color picture, more or less, but the colors are enhanced.

My astronomy software is acting up, and I can no longer access the B-V indexes of galaxies. Does anyone know the B-V or possibly even the U-B indexes of this trio?

Ann

[bystander]

Beautiful! This is exactly the kind of astronomy picture that I like. I can see that it is a true-color picture, more or less, but the colors are enhanced.

NGC 5566_5560_5569_Virgo Galaxy Trio

RCOS 14.5" f9 Carbon Truss
AP 1200 GTO
SBIG STL-11000XM
LRGB=420:160:160:160

[orin stepanek]

Beautiful! This is exactly the kind of astronomy picture that I like. I can see that it is a true-color picture, more or less, but the colors are enhanced.

NGC 5566_5560_5569_Virgo Galaxy Trio

RCOS 14.5" f9 Carbon Truss
AP 1200 GTO
SBIG STL-11000XM
LRGB=420:160:160:160

There's a nice slide show on that url! lots pf pictures just keep clicking on next>

[biddie67]

Even though the little blue NGC 5569 appears closer to the large yellow NGC 5566, it must be further away than the 3rd one, NGC 5560, since it's not showing any obvious distortions as NGC 5560 is .... Will the relative positions of 2 galaxies (i.e., face-on to edge-on, edge to edge, etc.) make a difference in total gravitation force possible exerted by a larger galaxy on the galaxy with the weaker gravitation forces?

Would it be possible to say what the "B-V and U-B indexes" are? And what does RCOS, ..... mean? Thanks.

[León]

The central spiral galaxy, impeccable looks full, symmetrical, with old stars, is a spectator of the meetings of the other two decidedly blue, who dance their pas de deux

The result of the excitation gas product of a violent interaction that generation of stars in both.

Galaxy collisions may trigger the formation of a large fraction of all the stars ever formed, and play a key role in fueling active galactic nuclei. Current understanding of the processes involved is reviewed.

Noted in the post that accompanies the image "Of course, such cosmic interactions are now appreciated as a common part of the evolution of galaxies", it is noted and I add and significant evidence that opposes the expansion.

[Case]

Would it be possible to say what the "B-V and U-B indexes" are?

See UBV photometric system. The letters U, B, and V stand for ultraviolet (364 nm), blue (442 nm), and visual magnitudes (540 nm).
By subtracting one value from the other, it gives an index value that may be compared to index values of other objects. The smaller the color index, the more blue (or hotter) the object is.

And what RCOS, etc means?

RCOS 14.5" f9 Carbon Truss ---> model telescope
AP 1200 GTO ---> model telescope mount
SBIG STL-11000XM ---> model CCD Camera
LRGB=420:160:160:160 ---> exposure times for luminance, red, green and blue for this image

[biddie67]

Thanks .....

[nstahl]

Great picture.

If they are in Virgo, does that mean they are virgins? This is a question of grammar, not behavior.

[jman]

I'd say they are Virgos.

[nstahl]

Virgons?