Galaxy Zoo Talk

Unusual Red Arc & Other Features

  • m57ring by m57ring

    There is a strange red arc to the upper left of the apparently merging galaxies. There is also a faint glow to the left of the arc. The 2 largest galaxies appear to be merging or at least overlapping. There is a darker band between them which I'm assuming to be dust. There is a very faint streak (tidal debris?) from the right side of the lower galaxy towards the small bright spot beneath it.

    Posted

  • ElisabethB by ElisabethB moderator

    Hi m57ring and welcome to the Zoo

    There are quite a couple of things to address here ! 😄

    The red line (middle top) is an artefact.


    The two objects, at 2 o'clock from the empty centre, are not merging and there is no dust lane either. The round white object is a foreground star from our galaxy. The lower object is probably a disturbed galaxy.

    The correct classification for this image is : star/artifact, since there is nothing in the centre of the image. Yes, the software sometimes makes mistakes ! ;D

    Anyway, I hope this helps !

    Happy hunting ! 😄

    Posted