APOD: 2023 September 25 Б Arp 142: The Hummingbird Galaxy
Explanation:
What's happening to this spiral galaxy?
Just a few hundred million years ago,
NGC 2936, the upper of the two large
galaxies shown at the bottom, was likely a
normal spiral galaxy --
spinning, creating stars -- and minding its own business.
But then it got too close to the
massive elliptical galaxy
NGC 2937, just below, and took a turn.
Sometimes dubbed the
Hummingbird Galaxy for its iconic shape,
NGC 2936 is not only being deflected but also being distorted by the
close gravitational interaction.
Behind filaments of dark
interstellar dust, bright blue stars form the
nose of the hummingbird, while the center of the spiral appears as an eye.
Alternatively, the galaxy pair, together known as
Arp 142,
look to some like
Porpoise or a
penguin
protecting an egg.
The featured re-processed image showing
Arp 142 in great detail was taken recently by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Arp 142 lies about 300 million
light years
away toward the constellation of the Water Snake
(Hydra).
In a billion years or so the
two galaxies will likely merge into one larger galaxy.
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.
