Peculiar object in tidally warped spiral arm


A bright blue, violet in sdss, object resides in the arm of this warped spiral- a tiny weak radio source corresponds to the spot.

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There’s an SDSS spectrum for that little object as well as the main galaxy core. The small one is classified as a starburst galaxy, so perhaps a merger-driven star formation around the core of the merging galaxy?

Yeah I was feeling that its either the core/compressed body of the companion galaxy that main spiral is merging with (based on faint radio emission centered on it) or a highly compact yet large, massive and bright starburst region in the arm.

If I had to guess between the two I’d likely go with the former over the latter only because of that little bump and then curve the southern arm takes when it meets that object, (my brain thinks that little warp is due to the gravitational effect that object is having on that arm) and the lack of a corresponding or even a closely similar region on the northern arm. Plus the faint radio emission lol.