Arp 107 contains a special spiral galaxy called a Seyfert that is connected to a smaller galaxy by a “bridge” of dust and gas.

What is: Arp 107 is a pair of galaxies that survived the collision.

Shooting date: September 18, 2023.

Where: It is 465 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor.

Why is this so: This Hubble Space Telescope image shows a cosmic collision between two very different types of galaxies.

The large galaxy on the left shows a single spiral arm twisting from its core, with dust and gas glowing, while the much smaller galaxy on the right is little more than a bright core. Two strange-looking galaxies are connected by a thin bridge of dust and gas.

The larger galaxy, the Seyfert Galaxy, is a spiral galaxy with an extremely bright, point-like active galactic nucleus powered by a supermassive black hole, according to NASA. Approximately one in 10 galaxies is a Seyfert galaxy.

Interacting and merging galaxies, including Arp 107, were first cataloged by American astronomer Halton Arp (hence their name), who published the Atlas of Strange Galaxies in 1966. In recent years, Hubble has used its Advanced Camera for Surveys to observe these galaxies, including Arp-Madore 417-391 and the spectacular Galactic Triple. Harp 248.

How to see it in the night sky: These galaxies are very difficult to see, even when Leo Lesbo is high in the sky over the Northern Hemisphere in the spring. But a similar view can be seen with a good telescope when pointed at M51, better known as the Tornado Galaxy.

Located between Alkaid at the tip of the Ursa Major’s stalk and the star Kor Karoli in the constellation Canis Venata, the Vortex consists of a large spiral galaxy interacting with an adjacent dwarf galaxy. They are 27 million light-years away from the Milky Way, but they are bright and easy to see even with a small telescope. Source