Taffy Galaxies (UGC 12914/5)
History
The galaxy pair was most probably found in the 1950's by the Russian astronomer Boris Aleksandrovich Vorontsov-Velyaminov on the photo platers of the «Palomar Observatory Sky Survey». He listed it as VV 254 in his «Atlas and Catalogue of Interacting Galaxies», which was published in 1959. [432].
The nickname «Taffy Galaxies» or «Taffy System» most likely dates back to the publication of 1993 by J. J. Condon et al. who compared the radio continuum bridge between the galaxies UGC 12914 and UGC 12915 to «look like stretching strands of taffy», a US brand known for a sticky, elastic candy. [753]
Physical Properties
The unusual shape of the «Taffy Galaxies» UGC 12914/5 is the result of a head-on collision that occurred about 25 million years ago, which has resulted in a bridge of highly turbulent material spanning the two galaxies. Though this intergalactic bridge is teeming with star-forming material, its turbulent nature is suppressing star formation. The distance to its galaxies is estimated to 180 million light-years. [754]
| PGC | RA | Dec | Type | Dim | Btot | HRV | PA | Names |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGC 120 | 00 01 37.8 | +23 29 05 | CBRM | 2.2 x 1.1 | 13.2 | 4378 | 160 | UGC 12914, MCG 4-1-10, CGCG 478-12, CGCG 477-40, (3ZW 125), (VV 254), KAZ 240, ANON 2359+23A |
| PGC 129 | 00 01 42.4 | +23 29 41 | C M | 1.5 x .5 | 14.0 | 4344 | 137 | UGC 12915, MCG 4-1-11, CGCG 477-41, CGCG 478-13, (3ZW 125), (VV 254), ANON 2359+23B |
Finder Chart
The Taffy Galaxies UGC 12914/5 can be found in the constellation of Pegasus. On 24 September they are in opposition to the Sun and culminates at local midnight.
