Arps in the UK

Greg Parker of New Forest Observatory has some nice things to say about the new Arp book here. He calls it "the most beautiful and information astronomy book I currently own - and I own quite a few!" He's also got tips for purchasing it from the UK.

Regulus review

Regulus, the newsletter of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada - Kingston Centre, has a thoughtful review of the new Arp book here. See page 7 for Jan Wisniewski's review.

Hubble image of Arp 87

The Hubble telescope has taken a fabulous image of Arp 87, and with a great backstory at that. Check out Zolt Levay's tale of why it took seven years for Hubble to image this galaxy pair. It was supposed to have been imaged by the ACS camera on Hubble, but that instrument failed before they could complete the task. Fortunately that freed up a bit of time for observations with the WFPC2 imager, and the Hubble Heritage team got some time for Arp 87.

And a beautiful use of time it was, too.

Sky & Telescope review

"A handsome tome designed by two knowledgeable observers who know what they're doing." That's the subhead of the 'Arped and Ready' review of the new Arp galaxies book, in the September 2007 issue of Sky & Telescope.

With an intro like that, you know we've got to be happy with the article. Reviewer Ken Hewitt-White calls it 'a welcome reminder that niche-market observing guides are still possible in the Internet Age'. He singles out the 'colorfully-written history' of Arp's contributions to astronomy, then walks through the observing guide for all 338 Arp galaxies.

We're particularly happy that he notes that many Arps can be seen through smaller telescopes, even 3- and 4-inch scopes under less than optimal skies. Remember: Arps aren't just for large telescopes. There's an Arp out there for everyone!

Arp authors to speak in Socorro, NM, in October

Jeff and Dennis, authors of the new Arp atlas of peculiar galaxies, will be the keynote speakers on October 12 at the 2007 Enchanted Skies Start Party in Socorro, NM. Come to the beautiful dark southwestern skies for a fabulous time.

More details are available at http://www.socorro-nm.com/starparty/.

Thanks to Dave Finley for the invite!

Rob Gendler review

Astrophotographer Rob Gendler has weighed in on the new Arp atlas book with some unofficial but glowing comments, including the following:

"This book will be a major contribution to all of astronomy and will no doubt be used for decades to come. In addition to the many fine images it's packed with an impressive amount of information about Arp's 338 peculiar galaxies. It will be an incredible resource for imagers, observers and armchair astronomers."

Thanks Rob! We're glad you liked it.

Review from the Houston Astronomical Society

The April 2007 newsletter of the Houston Astronomical Society features a Q&A with local author Dennis Webb regarding the Arp galaxies. The new Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, the reviewer says, is 'informative' and 'a must-have'.

Check out the review here:
http://spacsun.rice.edu/~has/Guidestars/200704gsw.pdf

NEAF talk

Jeff and Dennis spoke very successfully this weekend at the Northeast Astronomy Forum in Suffern, NY. Thanks to Jim Burnell and the whole NEAF crowd!

Upcoming talk in New York/New Jersey, April 28

Jeff and Dennis, authors of the new book on Arp galaxies, will be speaking at the NorthEast Astronomy Forum in Suffern, NY, on April 28. We've got some more details on the event now - check out http://www.rocklandastronomy.com/neaf.htm.

They'll speak from 2:15 to 3:45 pm - Jeff on the 'Legacy of the Arp Galaxies' and Dennis on 'Observing the Arp Galaxies'. Come by!

Dennis Webb Speaks!

Dennis will be speaking, selling, and signing copies of the Arp Atlas of Pecular Galaxies at the Fort Bend Astronomical Club February 16, 7 p.m., at the Houston Community College Southwest Campus.

Arp 82: new findings

From East Tennessee State University:

A pair of interacting galaxies might be experiencing the galactic equivalent of a mid-life crisis. For some reason, the pair, called Arp 82, didn't make their stars early on as is typical of most galaxies. Instead, they got a second wind later in life – about 2 billion years ago – and started pumping out waves of new stars as if they were young again.

The new observations are from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy Observatory at Kitt Peak, Ariz.

Read more here:
http://www.etsu.edu/etsu/news_text.asp?Action=ListEvent&EventID=5579

New image of Arp 336 (NGC 2685)

Ken Crawford, one of the contributors to the book, has made a remarkable color image of Arp 336 (NGC 2685) a rare polar ring galaxy. His color rendition shows the complex structure of this perplexing Arp galaxy.

Check it out here:
http://www.rdelsol.com/Galaxy/NGC2685.html

Talk, book signing in Houston on Feb. 9

Dennis Webb will appear at the Johnson Space Center Astronomical Society in Houston, Texas, on Friday, February 9, 2007, to tell the story of the Arp galaxy book and sign and offer books for sale.

For more information see:
http://www.ghg.net/cbr/jscas/