NGC 7609
NGC 7609 or known as Arp 150 and HCG 95A, is a large elliptical galaxy located in Pegasus. Its speed relative to the cosmic microwave background is 11,879 km/s, which corresponds the galaxy to be located 554 million light-years away from Earth. NGC 7609 was discovered on October 5, 1864, by Albert Marth and included in Halton Arp's, Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies in galaxies that produces jets.
With a surface brightness of apparent magnitude 14.59, NGC 7609 is classified as a low [surface brightness galaxy]. LSB galaxies are diffuse galaxies with surface brightness that is one less magnitude, of the night sky.
A pair of interacting galaxies
A SDSS survey image and from the Hubble Space Telescope, showed that NGC 7609 is interacting with nearby galaxy, PGC 71077 whose spiral arms is currently being absorbed by the larger entity. A double-nuclei is present in HCG 95C, which is considered a merger remanent of two disk galaxies. Two tidal tails are also found in NGC 7609 and HCG 95C region, which seems to connect together, and there is a linear bridge between two galaxies indicating nuclear activity is taking place in HCG 95C. From the study written from Vilchez & Iglesias-Paramo in 1998, Hα emission is detected in the nuclei of both galaxies and also the larger tidal tails.A long slit spectra of NGC 7609 shows, it exhibits red-shifted H-alpha + and emission lines that is indicative to a LINER-type AGN.
From the spatial profiles, this indicates non-nuclear starburst activity triggered by tidal forces while nuclear spectrum indicates non thermal activity. From the further IUE observations of HCG 95C, it presents a featureless continuum with transient outburst captured in one observation, showing galactic emission of red-shifted N v and C IV. This result depicts HCG 95C is in the early stages of merging with NGC 7609.
According to another study, it is suggested that a dwarf galaxy might have been created at the tip of the northern tidal tails.