Arp 253 and a percentage sign galaxy (pair?)

[Martin Meredith]

You never really know what you are going to get when pointing the scope at an Arp peculiar galaxy. At least I don't, preferring not to look them up beforehand... Arp 253 presents a really strange field, not just because of the Arp, but because of the strange object to their south.

The Arp galaxies (UGCA 173/174) are a well-matched  pair with identical magnitudes of 15.0. The right hand of the two has a couple of knots at each end. Both galaxies have a distinct curve as if they are dancing around each other (which may well be true).

The galaxy to the south has the appearance of a % symbol albeit with a curved central bar. I can find very little information about this except that it is mag 14.0 MCG-01-25-033 and is regarded as a 'galaxy in pair of galaxies'. The DSS image does show a lot of blue so there appears to be some interaction going on, but for the life of me I can't work out where the other galaxy is. I guess it could lie just behind it in the line of sight. Or perhaps the classification refers to it as somehow paired with the Arp? It would be interesting to find other galaxies with this kind of morphology.

Total exposure is 4 minutes (16 x 15s)

 

[Mike JW]

Your observation worked out well.  Here is my observation from 2nd March. Just missed the percentage sign galaxy. Yes possibly interacting with the Arp galaxy. WOuld make sense if they are similar distance