APOD: Young Star Cluster NGC 346 (2023 Jan 13)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
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johnnydeep
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Re: APOD: Young Star Cluster NGC 346 (2023 Jan 13)

Post by johnnydeep » Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:51 pm

Ann wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 6:21 pm
johnnydeep wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 3:26 pm Hey, did anyone notice the OTHER galaxy that looks quite similar to the possibly double nucleated one being discussed above? It's a ways down and to the right:


Great find, Johnny! Your "other" galaxy is definitely a real spiral galaxy, and it is interacting with a smaller galaxy as well.

Ann
Yes, it's indubitably a pair of galaxies, unlike the debatable other "one".
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VictorBorun
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Re: APOD: Young Star Cluster NGC 346 (2023 Jan 13)

Post by VictorBorun » Sun Jan 15, 2023 5:33 am

Ann wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 6:10 am How strange!
In the Hubble image, we can see one bright "nucleus"(?), and immediately to the right of it we can see one faint yellow "nucleus"(?). And to the right of the second nucleus is another, reasonably bright object.
Ann
Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
I wonder if the right core is in fact a red dwarf star at 10 ly distance from us moving fast between the two snapshots.
Does GAIA have it catalogued?

two-cored - background galaxy jwst.png
two-cored - background galaxy jwst.png (277.42 KiB) Viewed 748 times
two-cored - background galaxy hst.png
...

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Ann
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Re: APOD: Young Star Cluster NGC 346 (2023 Jan 13)

Post by Ann » Sun Jan 15, 2023 5:40 am

johnnydeep wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:51 pm
Ann wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 6:21 pm
johnnydeep wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 3:26 pm Hey, did anyone notice the OTHER galaxy that looks quite similar to the possibly double nucleated one being discussed above? It's a ways down and to the right:


Great find, Johnny! Your "other" galaxy is definitely a real spiral galaxy, and it is interacting with a smaller galaxy as well.

Ann
Yes, it's indubitably a pair of galaxies, unlike the debatable other "one".
Your "other" galaxy (or galaxies) strengthens my belief that the first object is also a galaxy, in spite of its strange double nucleus. Note how similar the objects are in size, color and morphology. That is exactly what we would expect if these two are galaxies of a similar size, morphology and dust content (or lack thereof), and at a similar distance from us.

Background galaxies behind Tadpole.png
Background galaxies behind the Tadpole galaxy. These galaxies are of a similar size
and color, and they are certainly at a similar distance from us. Credit: NASA,
H. Ford, G. Illingworth, M. Clampin, G. Hartig, the ACS Science Team, and ESA

Ann
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VictorBorun
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Re: APOD: Young Star Cluster NGC 346 (2023 Jan 13)

Post by VictorBorun » Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:08 pm

Ann wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 5:40 am
johnnydeep wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:51 pm
Ann wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 6:21 pm


Great find, Johnny! Your "other" galaxy is definitely a real spiral galaxy, and it is interacting with a smaller galaxy as well.

Ann
Yes, it's indubitably a pair of galaxies, unlike the debatable other "one".
Your "other" galaxy (or galaxies) strengthens my belief that the first object is also a galaxy, in spite of its strange double nucleus. Note how similar the objects are in size, color and morphology. That is exactly what we would expect if these two are galaxies of a similar size, morphology and dust content (or lack thereof), and at a similar distance from us.

Ann
but here HST portraits both cores as red
Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
two-cored - background galaxy 2 hst.png
two-cored - background galaxy 2 hst.png
...

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VictorBorun
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Re: APOD: Young Star Cluster NGC 346 (2023 Jan 13)

Post by VictorBorun » Sun Jan 15, 2023 1:26 pm

I wonder have these three stars formed from the same proto-disk and do they remain bound?
The middle one seems to move ↙ from HST to JWST
Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
by the way the fourth bright dot (only in JWST) must be a background galaxy
two-cored - background galaxy 3 jwst.png
two-cored - background galaxy 3 hst.png
...

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Ann
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Re: APOD: Young Star Cluster NGC 346 (2023 Jan 13)

Post by Ann » Sun Jan 15, 2023 3:39 pm

VictorBorun wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 12:08 pm
Ann wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 5:40 am
johnnydeep wrote: Sat Jan 14, 2023 8:51 pm

Yes, it's indubitably a pair of galaxies, unlike the debatable other "one".
Your "other" galaxy (or galaxies) strengthens my belief that the first object is also a galaxy, in spite of its strange double nucleus. Note how similar the objects are in size, color and morphology. That is exactly what we would expect if these two are galaxies of a similar size, morphology and dust content (or lack thereof), and at a similar distance from us.

Ann
but here HST portraits both cores as red
Click to view full size image 1 or image 2
two-cored - background galaxy 2 jwst.pngtwo-cored - background galaxy 2 hst.png
...
The galaxies look red in the HST image because they were (by far most strongly) detected by HST:s infrared filter.

Ann
Color Commentator

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