NGC 2300 and NGC 2276 - Arp 114 in Cepheus

[stevewanstall]

This is a pair of galaxies from Arp's catalogue. My intention is for this to be the start of a lot of data collection; the object is well placed and is always above the horizon from Locking. However, gibbous moon, clouds, ...sigh. Hence a lot of noise, light gradients  and nowhere near enough subs.

Wikipedia: Halton Christian "Chip" Arp (March 21, 1927 – December 28, 2013) was an American astronomer. He was known for his 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, which (it was later theorized) catalogues many examples of interacting and merging galaxies, though Arp disputed the idea, claiming apparent associations were prime examples of ejections. Arp was also known as a critic of the Big Bang theory and for advocating a non-standard cosmology incorporating intrinsic redshift.

This image is based on 30 x 114s luminance filter, gain 139  , offset 21, -15 degrees C (darks, flats and dark flats).

Arp 114 in Cepheus

Astronomers don't think the two galaxies are interacting; 
"An odd couple lives some 100 million light years away. Here we find a spiral galaxy, NGC 2276 on the left, and its neighbor NGC 2300 on the right. There are quite a few intriguing questions concerning this pair. First of all NGC 2276 displays a perturbed spiral structure yet astronomers seem to agree that NGC 2300 is not the source of the angst. Instead, astronomers have learned that there is an abundance of gas (not shown in this picture) surrounding these galaxies. It could be that NGC 2276's motion through the gas affects its morphology." http://www.jwinman.com/starcharts/NGC 2300 chart.htm

There are other galaxies visible, including IC 455

Astrometry plate resolve