Closeup of Antennae Galaxy Collision
Credit & Copyright: B. Whitmore (STScI),
F. Schweizer (DTM),
NASA
Explanation:
It's a clash of the titans. Two galaxies are squaring off in
Corvus and
here are the latest pictures. When two
galaxies collide, however,
the stars that compose them usually do not.
This is because
galaxies are mostly empty space and, however bright,
stars only take up only a small amount of that space.
But during the slow, hundred million year
collision, one galaxy
can rip the other apart gravitationally, and
dust
and gas common to both galaxies does collide. In the
above wreckage,
dark
dust pillars mark massive molecular clouds,
which are being compressed during the
galactic encounter,
causing the
rapid birth of millions of stars.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
