I chose to work on this galaxy because I was playing the cosmic lottery. I am part of a group that is looking for tidal star streams surrounding nearby spiral galaxies. I had a "feeling" that this particular galaxy fit the type—but I had no way to know for certain.

Shown here are two streams (likely part of the same structure/process) associated with NGC 3614. They are very faint and I hope you can see them on your monitor. At more than 100 million light years away this galaxy is one of the farther examples in the ever expanding catalog of similar galactic events being studied by Dr. David Delgado and his Stellar Tidal Stream Survey. On the left you can see the small galaxy that is likely leaving behind some of the stars.

So I was awestruck when I saw it in my data two years ago! It is a special feeling to make astronomy a livelihood and contribute to science while simultaneously getting the thrill of discovery. The delay in the release of the image was to allow Dr. Delgado and his group the opportunity to model the system and include it in a research paper (to be published very soon). That took a bit of patience on my part, but the happiness never waned and I am pleased to share my little pursuit with you today.

Be sure to click on the image above for the large version to scroll around and see the rest of the background universe.

In mid-March, I was fortunate to be able to release my latest image of vdB 31 at a conference in Linz, Austria. This object seems particularly well-suited for the event and place: