Arp@VST

Arp@VST is a multi-band imaging survey of the peculiar galaxies pf the Arp catalogue with VST, visible from the ESO Cerro-Paranal Observatory

This is a public observing program, where we commit to producing and making publicly available the fully reduced data set

Given the excellent capabilities of the VST to map the galaxies’ outskirts, down to the low surface brightness levels needed to detect and study the remnants of the gravitational interactions and merging, with the present project we plan to acquire deep images in the g and r bands, down to μg ~ 28 - 31 mag/arcsec2, for all the Arp galaxies visible from the Paranal Observatory (DEC < +10 deg), to detect the LSB features (in the form of stellar streams or tidal tails) out to unprecedented distances from the center of the target (~ 10 Re). Shallower images will be obtained in the i band and with the H𝛼 filter, which can be acquired during the bright time.