Positioned 300 million light-years away in the constellation of Andromeda, Arp 273, a significant celestial attraction, is an interacting pair of galaxies also referred to as UGC 1810, PGC 8961, VV 323, and more. It is featured prominently in the renowned Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies by Halton Arp, falling into the category of "galaxies with connected arms".
Arp 273, a part of the Abell 347 cluster of galaxies, is also a member of the colossal Perseus-Pisces Supercluster. The pair that forms Arp 273 comprises two galaxies known as UGC 1810 and UGC 1813.
UGC 1810, the larger of the two, is nearly five times more massive than its companion UGC 1813, with a separation of about 100,000 light-years. This galaxy is notably characterized by a distorted disk, which due to its peculiar morphology, mirrors the image of a rose.
Meanwhile, UGC 1813 is observed to display enhanced star formation around its nucleus. Astronomers theorize that UGC 1813 traversed through UGC 1810 several hundred million years ago, leading to their current observed forms. This theory offers a plausible explanation for the elongation of the spiral arms of UGC 1810.
Image: A composite optical image of Arp 273 as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The image was formed using broadband filters centred at 390 nm (U-band, blue), 475 nm (B-band, green), and 600 nm (R-band, red). UGC 1810 is the massive peculiar galaxy dominating the field of view, whereas UGC 1813 is situated beneath it.
Image Credit: Courtesy of NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
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