Faint Features of Interacting Galaxies Revealed by the Digital Coaddition of 13 Tech-Pan Films of the Virgo Cluster

We have digitally coadded APM scans of 13 Kodak TechPan films of the SE region of the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. The ≈6.2°×6.2°field of the R-band films combined with the resolution of ≈2 arcsec pixel^- results in data-file sizes of about 222 MBytes. The 13 scanned films have been aligned, coadded, corrected for vignetting effects and cleaned of stellar features. To illustrate the astrophysical uses of this technique, we present high-contrast images of a sample of interacting galaxies in the field. Several very faint features (but very clearly seen in the coadded array) – such as the interaction between IC 3481,IC 3481A and IC 3483, and NGC 4410A and B and IC 790 – have been presented with clarity for the first time. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.