Taking up the challenge
My 1981 article featured 12 of my favorite peculiar galaxies. Since then, I’ve observed many other peculiar galaxies with larger optics. Here are 12 of my new favorites:
NGC 1228, NGC 1229, NGC 1230, and IC 1892 make up a chain of galaxies in Eridanus. These four are also known by their designation in Arp’s atlas, Arp 332. They are a faint quartet, in the 13th- to 14th-magnitude range, a challenge for a 10-inch scope. Why do galaxies line up? Perhaps it’s random chance, or maybe they evolved together in their own “local group.” NGC 1229 is a Seyfert-type galaxy — one with an active, energetic nucleus due to its central, supermassive black hole gorging on material.
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are a pair of spirals in Canis Major. Many observers are aware of this constellation’s numerous star clusters like M41. But the Big Dog also contains a number of galaxies, including this pair in the early stages of colliding. The smaller (and more distant) of the two, IC 2163, looks comma-shaped, with arms stretched by tidal forces.
M82 (NGC 3034) in Ursa Major is a starburst galaxy, so called because it forms stars at a much greater rate than most galaxies. Called the Cigar Galaxy because it is long and narrow with rounded ends, it’s easy to see with small scopes. This Cuban is shrouded in smoky dark nebulae that can likewise be seen in small telescopes. With larger optics, the detail in the dusty shreds is fun to observe. How much detail can you see?