Zooming in on Merging Spiral Galaxies

Zoom in reveals a pair of interacting spiral galaxies — NGC 4568 and NGC 4567 — as they begin to clash and merge. These galaxies are entangled by their mutual gravitational field and will eventually combine to form a single elliptical galaxy in around 500 million years. Also visible in the image is the glowing remains of a supernova that was detected in 2020. 

 

Credit:

International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA

Image Processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF's NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab) & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Music: Zero-project - Through the Looking Glass (zero-project.gr)

About the Video

Id:noirlab2219b
Release date:Aug. 9, 2022, 11 a.m.
Related releases:noirlab2219
Duration:01 m 00 s
Frame rate:29.97

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