The type Sb spiral galaxy NGC 772 lies in the constellation of Aries high in the Autumn skies when this image was taken on 24th November 2008. There is some distortion to its spiral shape which has led to its inclusion in the Arp catalogue of peculiar galaxies. The distortion is due to the tidal interactions between NGC 772 and its neighbour NGC 770, the dwarf elliptical galaxy to the south. 



In 2003 two supernovae were discovered in NGC 772 within 3 weeks of one another, but these have long since faded to invisibility. NGC 770 is unusual in that its core rotates in the opposite direction to the rest of the galaxy. One theory for this is that the counter-rotation is due to the merger of NGC 772 with another dwarf galaxy.