[▲ Two spiral galaxies passing each other “NGC 2207” (left) and “IC 2163” (right) (Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI))]
This is an image of two spiral galaxies in the direction of “Canis Major”.The galaxy on the left is「NGC 2207」The galaxy on the right「IC 2163」Is called.
NGC 2207 and IC 2163Interaction through gravityIt is believed to be.According to NASA, we currently have two galaxies.About 40 million years after the closest approachIt seems that you are observing the situation. The tidal force caused by the gravity of NGC 2207 distorts the shape of the IC 2163, and one of the spiral arms (spiral arms) is stretched to the right of the image to a length of about 100,000 light-years.
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 that passed each other are attracted to each other’s gravityApproaching againAnd eventuallyCollide and coalesce into one galaxyRuIs expected. The innumerable galaxies that exist in this universe are thought to have grown by colliding with and coalescing with other galaxies.We liveThe Milky Way Galaxy also approaches the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)Is going onAfter billions of years, they will merge into one galaxyIs expected.
The image at the beginning is“Hubble” Space TelescopeObserving device installed in“Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2)”Created based on observation data (using four types of UV, visible, and infrared filters) and released on November 4, 1999, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Twitter official account was released in June 2022. I will introduce it again on the 15th.
Like ships in the night, two spiral galaxies in this #HubbleClassic image are captured in a near-collision! ⛵
Trails of stars and gas are stretched by the gravitational pull between the galaxies, NGC 2207 (left) and IC 2163 (right): https://t.co/QQFRP9nkOo pic.twitter.com/6jnQNhLnI5
— Hubble (@NASAHubble) June 14, 2022
Related: Star formation site of spiral galaxy captured by radio waves.European Southern Observatory reveals images
Source
- Image Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI)
- NASA/STScI – A Grazing Encounter between Two Spiral Galaxies
Text/Matsumura Takehiro
