NGC 2784: Another Strange One

[Russ.Carpenter]

This text and image were uploaded to Astrobin this morning. The link to Astrobin is: https://www.astrobin.com/zeqmcw/?nc=user

*****************************

NGC 2784—The Stealth Spiral Galaxy

This image is part of my on-going investigation of peculiar galaxies in the Southern Hemisphere. I believe this is the first time NGC 2784 has been imaged and published by an amateur.

NGC 2874 was formally classified as a lenticular galaxy; however it is more recently described as an “early stage” spiral. It’s a dramatic example of the enormous variation in the appearance of spirals. NGC 2874 has spiral arms so tightly packed together that they are barely differentiated. Compare that to late stage spirals, which often seem bizarrely chaotic.

Actually, my favorite aspects of this image are the tiny interacting galaxies. The spiral on the lower right of NGC 2874 is uncatalogued. On the left side we have the elusive dwarf NGC 2874 DW1, and farther out you can see the peculiar spiral dwarf LEDA 166096. I am always amazed that amateur telescopes can image such esoteric objects.

The Catalog of Southern Peculiar Galaxies and Associations, by Halton Arp and Barry Madore classifies NGC 2284 as a peculiar galaxy because it meets the requirements of these categories:

- Category 1—Galaxies with interaction companions
- Category 8—Galaxies with apparent companions
- Category 20—Dwarf galaxies

Tech Notes for ASA 500/3.6:
ASA Newtonian, 500 mm aperture, 1900mm focal length, F3.6
FLI Proline 16803, 9 mm pixel, 4096 X 4096
ASA DDM85 equatorial mount
Processing with PixInsight, StarTools, and Affinity Photo