Atomic Gas in the Ring Galaxy Arp 143
Description
A composite image of the optical light (green and yellow) and cold atomic hydrogen gas (blue) in the "Ring Galaxy" Arp 143 (a.k.a. NGC 2444/5). The atomic hydrogen observations, taken with the VLA in its C and D-array configurations, shows a suprising gaseous tidal tails reaching far to the north of this galaxy, to a total distance of 175 kpc or 570,000 light years in length (for Ho=75 km/s/Mpc). There was no hint of this tidal tail in previous optical images. Deeper optical imaging may show a hint of starlight associated with the tail, but it is mostly a gaseous structure. Notice gas also associated with the classical grand-design spiral galaxy to the right
VLA C+D array observations obtained by Appleton et al. (1987), with a resolution of 28". Optical image is R-band image taken by J. Hibbard with the KPNO 0.9m telescope in 10/92.
Creator
Legacy Astronomical Images
Rights
NRAO/AUI/NSF does not hold full copyright for this image. Contact the archivist for details.
Type
Legacy Astronomical Image
Object Name
Arp 143
Photographer
Investigators
P. Appleton, F. Ghigo, J. van Gorkom, J. Schombert, C. Struck-Marcell
Telescope
Very Large Array (VLA)
Observation Date
1987-06-06
Type of Observation
spectral line
Wavelength
21 cm
Frequency
1420.4 MHz
Species
HI
Center of Image
RA 7:46:35.200, Dec: 39:6:4.000 (J2000)
Field of View
0.216667 x 0.250000 degrees
Link to journal article
Notes
Contact the archivist for a high resolution tif of this image.
Series
Galaxies Series
Unit
Peculiar Unit
Citation
Legacy Astronomical Images, “Atomic Gas in the Ring Galaxy Arp 143,” NRAO/AUI Archives, accessed August 17, 2024, https://www.nrao.edu/archives/items/show/33559.