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8b. Galaxies with Diametric Apparent Companions

One curious result of the present survey is the frequency with which apparent companion galaxies appeared aligned across the centre of a large galaxy. A number of the best examples are shown on pages 8.8 through 8.11. On page 8.12 the alignments become wider-spread and on page 8.13 the alignments become less exact. It should also be noted that some examples of companions aligned across central galaxies can be found in Category 3: Interacting Triples. Category 17: Chains, also contains some good examples of diametric companions. While there may be specific physical reasons for such pairings, it is perhaps useful to remember that the human eye is especially sensitive to symmetries. On the other hand, it should be emphasized that this sub-category, like the main Categories, was defined by the data rather than being pre-ordained as an expected peculiarity. The statistical significance of these alignments can and should be tested.

On page 8.14 there starts a very interesting sub-group of diametric companions, where a companion on one end of the line is double, usually visibly interacting. Object AM 1207-334 on page 8.15 has double companions on both ends of the line.