Quote Originally Posted by turbo-1
Yes, as I pointed out to Cougar some posts back, tidal interactions, rotation of the companion etc, could have led to some distortions of the of the bridge, yet the bridge is still lined up very neatly with the companion. Certainly, out of all the places the bridge could end, it is very conveniently terminated on NGC 7603B.
And I think it is important - if people want to argue this is a chance superposition - to explain why there is a bridge at all. There is not an interacting companion to have formed it except NGC 7603B.

And another thing we might ask. Why -if these are just superpositions - don't we see instances where the bridge passes over the companion? Why do these "accidents" always happen such that the bridge terminates at the position of the "background" object?