Sky Merger - Interacting And Colliding Galaxies

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Hubblecast 31: Sky merger yields sparkling dividends.

A recent NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image captures what appears to be one very bright and bizarre galaxy, but is actually the result of a pair of spiral galaxies, like our own Milky Way smashing together at breakneck speeds. The product of this dramatic collision, called NGC 2623, or Arp 243, is about 250 million light-years away in the constellation of Cancer (the Crab). This object was a target of Hubble's and a handful of its "sibling" spacecraft as part of a massive comprehensive sky survey called GOALS.

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Not surprisingly, interacting galaxies have a dramatic effect on each other. Studies have revealed that as galaxies approach one another massive amounts of gas are pulled from each galaxy towards the centre of the other, until ultimately, the two merge into one massive galaxy. The object in the image, NGC 2623, is in the late stages of the merging process with the centres of the original galaxy pair now merged into one nucleus.

However, stretching out from the centre are two tidal tails of young stars showing that a merger has taken place. During such a collision, the dramatic exchange of mass and gases initiates star formation, seen here in both the tails.

The prominent lower tail is richly populated with bright star clusters -- 100 of them have been found in these observations. The large star clusters that the team have observed in the merged galaxy are brighter than the brightest clusters we see in our own vicinity.

These star clusters may have formed as part of a loop of stretched material associated with the northern tail, or they may have formed from debris falling back onto the nucleus. In addition to this active star-forming region, both galactic arms harbour very young stars in the early stages of their evolutionary journey.

Some mergers (including NGC 2623) can result in an active galactic nucleus, where one of the supermassive black holes found at the centres of the two original galaxies is stirred into action.

Matter is pulled toward the black hole, forming an accretion disc. The energy released by the frenzied motion heats up the disc, causing it to emit across a wide swath of the electromagnetic spectrum.

NGC 2623 is so bright in the infrared that it belongs to the group of very luminous infrared galaxies (LIRG) and has been extensively studied as the part of the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) project that combines data from some of the most advanced space-based telescopes, including Hubble. Additional data from infrared and X-ray telescopes can further characterise objects like active galactic nuclei and nuclear star formation by revealing what is unseen at visible wavelengths.

The GOALS project includes data from NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). The joint efforts of these powerful observing facilities have provided a clearer picture of our local Universe.

Read more: http://www.spacetelescope.org/news/html/heic0912.html

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Hubblecast features news and Images from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST).

The space-based observatory is a collaboration between NASA and ESA. The observations are carried out in visible, infrared and ultraviolet light. In many ways Hubble has revolutionised modern astronomy.

The Hubble Space Telescope has made some of the most dramatic discoveries in the history of astronomy. From its vantage point 600 km above the Earth, Hubble can detect light with "eyes" five times sharper than the best ground-based telescopes and looks deep into space where some of the most profound mysteries are still buried in the mists of time.

Hubble European Space Agency Information Centre
Garching/Munich, Germany
• http://www.eso.org
• http://www.spacetelescope.org
• http://hubblesite.org

Dr. J is a German astronomer at the ESO. His scientific interests are in cosmology, particularly on galaxy evolution and quasars. Dr. J's real name is Joe Liske and he has a PhD in astronomy.

• http://www.eso.org/~jliske/
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[wakeangel2001]

I wonder if any intelligent life evolved in those tidal tails, what would their view of the universe be? There would be mostly young stars in their neighborhood of space, but the bulk of their galaxy would be distantly separated from them, perhaps leading them to believe they aren't actually part of it.

[danieldeibler]

@wwickeddogg Why wouldn't Christians be allowed to believe in other galaxies? I mean, they're created on the first page of the Bible.

[callmecoco]

Stop with the "christians don't believe this" crap... maybe a few refuse to believe (catholic higher ups for centuries comes to mind) but tell me where in the Bible does it say that God only created 1 earth and 1 civilization... btw because you seem ignorant, 'Christian' means that that person believes Jesus is their personal Lord. lol, try to make christians look bad even though you yourself, have no clue of the matter that you speak.

[wwickeddogg]

@OAbrey So you admit that atheist means someone who does not believe in god, yet you argue that it means someone who believes there is no god.

At least you admit to being a lying hypocrite, good luck running your bull shit on someone else.

[OAbrey]

@wwickeddogg I am sorry, I thought I was debating with someone who was educated enough to know the language, English. Or at least enough to know the letter "a" in front of "thesist" means non at all, not what you pick and choose. You just defined yourself as a "Polytheist",  Every man can believe as they will.

[wwickeddogg]

@OAbrey Maybe you don't even understand the etymology of the word atheist. Do you think an atheist can believe only one god does not exist? "I am atheistic about all gods except jesus." Do you think an atheist makes claims about gods he has no knowledge of? Does a child who has no knowledge of god believe that no god exists, or does the child simply not have a belief in god? You are a pompous jackass.

[wwickeddogg]

@OAbrey Wrong again buddy, atheists do not believe in god. All agnostics are atheists, they just argue that atheists believe that there is no god. An atheist is someone who does not believe in god.

Theists are so blinded by their own faith they forget there is a difference between a belief in a god and a belief in their god.

[wwickeddogg]

@OAbrey What text are you talking about? The question is whether or not Odin exists.

[OAbrey]

cont... where logically a circle is drawn around all that's knowable. If God is in the circle he would no longer be an agnostic. If God was not in that circle he may convert and become an atheist, after making extra sure his circle is big enough.

However, this is the problem of Man, some are know-it-alls, but aren't. Others are maybe a bit more humble, recognize they can't know it all, but remain open to nature and what it can teach, and God on a different plane.

[OAbrey]

@wwickeddogg An agnostic would not say there is no God. The Atheist would. 400 years of philosophy needs be overturned for your assertion to be true, and I don't think somebody named: wwickeddogg will do it. An agnostic realizes he cannot know everything in the cosmos, or beyond multi-dimensional space. So he refuses to make such an arrogant claim that he knows there is no God. He is merely stating, if God exists, I haven't found him yet. Only a thorough inductively derived conclusion

[wwickeddogg]

@OAbrey Try again.

Atheist = person who does not believe in god.

Show me an agnostic who believes in god and you can prove your argument otherwise you are full of shit. All agnostics are atheists.

[OAbrey]

@wwickeddogg I am familiar with that argument and it is disingenuous. It was invented because Atheists didn't want to admit their belief there is no god was a BELIEF. An agnostic has not precluded one way or the other, so could be convinced without prejudice. An Atheist must over come his prejudice in order to be convinced against his will.