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Astronomy Picture of the Day
NGC 1531/2: Interacting Galaxies
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#68659
by
[z]Barbara Harris
@
02.03.2005 00:00
- nach oben -
NGC 1531/2: Interacting Galaxies
Explanation: This dramatic image of an
interacting pair of galaxies
was made using 8-meter
Gemini
South telescope
at
Cerro Pachon
,
Chile
. NGC 1531 is the background galaxy with a bright core just above center and
NGC 1532
is the foreground
spiral galaxy
laced with
dust
lanes.
The pair
is about 55 million
light-years
away in the southern constellation
Eridanus
. These galaxies lie close enough together so that each feels
the influence
of the other's
gravity
. The gravitational
tug-of-war
has triggered
star formation
in the foreground spiral as evidenced by the young,
bright blue star clusters
along the upper edge of the front
spiral arm
. Though the spiral galaxy in
this pair
is viewed nearly edge-on, astronomers believe the system is similar to the face-on spiral and companion known as
M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy
.
Credit & Copyright