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Credit & Copyright: Thomas V. Davis
(tvdavisastropix.com)
Explanation:
A mere 30 million light-years away, large spiral
galaxy NGC 3628 (center left) shares
its
neighborhood in the local Universe with
two other large spirals, in a
magnificent grouping otherwise known as
the Leo Triplet.
In fact, fellow trio member
M65 is near the center right edge of this deep cosmic group portrait,
with M66 just above it and to the left.
But, perhaps most intriguing
is the spectacular tail stretching up and to the left
for about 300,000 light-years from
NGC 3628's warped, edge-on disk.
Know as a
tidal tail, the structure has been drawn
out of the galaxy by gravitational tides during
brief but
violent past interactions with
its large neighbors.
Not
often imaged so distinctly, the tidal tail is
composed of young bluish star clusters and star-forming regions.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: interacting galaxies
Publications with words: interacting galaxies
See also:
- APOD: 2025 March 12 Á NGC 772: The Fiddlehead Galaxy
- Peculiar Galaxies of Arp 273
- APOD: 2025 January 6 Á Colliding Spiral Galaxies from Webb and Hubble
- Shell Galaxies in Pisces
- APOD: 2024 July 15 Á The Tadpole Galaxy from Hubble
- Unraveling NGC 3169
- APOD: 2023 October 24 Á Arp 87: Merging Galaxies from Hubble