Abell 1185 is a galaxy cluster located in the constellation Ursa Major. It is approximately 400 million light-years away from Earth and spans one million light-years across. It is a member of the Leo Supercluster. One of the cluster’s brightest and most interesting objects is Arp 105 “The Guitar”. The main protagonists in this maelstrom of interacting galaxies are the spiral galaxy NGC 3561B and the eliptical NGC 3561A, along with a handful of tidal dwarf galaxies. The debris of their gravitational dance rendering a shape reminiscent of a guitar. The interacting galaxies are flinging out tidal arcs, sheets and knots of their stars across hundreds of thousands of light years. Some of these will potentially form distinct gravitationally bound condensations of stars and gas in their own right – becoming tidal dwarf galaxies.
Cropped image of Arp 105 and the central part of Abell 1185
Arp 105 and Abell 1185 in the larger FOV
Telescope: 16″ f3.75 Dream Scope
Camera: FLI ML16803
Mount: ASA DDM85
Exposure: 4.5 hours (24x300s L + 3x9x300s RGB)
Acquisition: March 2020 – Processing: March 2021
Location: Southern Alps, France
Bart Delsaert - Astrophotography 