Quote:
Originally Posted by strongmanmike
Yes I believe they are separate Bob, the smaller IC 2163 is in the background but close enough that it is expected to merge with NGC 2207 in the future. The extended arm of NGC 2207 that passes in front of IC 2163 does look like a gravitational stretch to me though  ...who knows 
Mike |
I understand bettera now, that IC 2163 is traveling straight at NGC from our perspective, I mistakenly thought IC was approaching from the side more or less therefore it was already in a situation of Mixing with it. Thanx for explaining that it is still off in the distance somewhat and having mild effects from there, makes a lot more sense in what you have captured in this pair
Cheers.