Arp 148

Hubble Interacting Galaxy Arp 148

Arp 148 is the staggering aftermath of an encounter between two galaxies, resulting in a ring-shaped galaxy and a long-tailed companion. The collision between the two parent galaxies produced a shockwave effect that first drew matter into the center and then caused it to propagate outwards in a ring. The elongated companion perpendicular to the ring suggests that Arp 148 is a unique snapshot of an ongoing collision. Infrared observations reveal a strong obscuration region that appears as a dark dust lane across the nucleus in optical light. Arp 148 is nicknamed Mayall s object and is located in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, approximately 500 million light-years away. This interacting pair of galaxies is included in Arp's catalog of peculiar galaxies as number 148.

This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.
Technical facts about this image About the object
Object name: Arp 148, VV 032, Mayall's Object, MCG+07-23-019
Object description: Interacting Galaxies
Position (J2000): 11 03 53.95
+40 50 59.90
Constellation: Ursa Major
Distance: 450 million light-years (150 million parsecs)
About the data
Data description: The Hubble image was created using HST data from proposals 10592, 11091, and 6276: A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University), K. Noll (STScI), and J. Westphal (Caltech)
Instrument: WFPC2, ACS/WFC
Exposure date(s): October 9/10, 1995; November 20, 2005; and April 27-29, 2007
Exposure time: 10.3 hours
Filters: F336W (U), F450W (B), F606W (V), and F814W (I)
Source

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/16/image/aa/ (direct link)
Date

24 April 2008 (2008-04-24)
Author

NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

Images

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