Color Correlations in (S+S) Binary Galaxies I. The Holmberg Effect

Relying on his photometry of galaxies, Holmberg (1958) found, more than 40 years ago, that the color indices of paired galaxies were closely correlated. Our deep broad-band BVRI CCD photometry of 45 (S+S) pairs from the Karachentsev (1972) catalogue (see Hernandez Toledo and Puerari, this volume), and additional (B-V) color information from the literature (50 extra (S+S) pairs), help us to confirm the effect. This “Holmberg Effect” has long been remained unverified and not explained yet.