Two spiral galaxies are Stella Actor | Adult Movies Onlineon the precipice of a messy scuffle — a type of merger known as "galactic cannibalism," with the larger galaxy stripping stars off the smaller one.
The galaxies, IC 2163 on the left and NGC 2207, are about 114 light-years away from Earth, located in the Eridanus and Canis Major constellations, respectively. NASAand its spaceagency counterparts have combined data from the James Webb Space Telescopeand Hubble Space Telescopeto learn more about such cosmic collisions.
The result: The snapshot that appears at the top of this story, the highest-resolution image yet of the galactic pair, revealing new insights into galaxy evolution and star formation.
"Both galaxies have high star formation rates, like innumerable individual hearts fluttering all across their arms," according to the Space Telescope Science Institutein Baltimore, which runs both telescopes.
SEE ALSO: Astronomers just found a galaxy way too advanced for its timeSo far the two galaxies have only brushed against each other, with IC 2163, the smaller of the two, shifting slightly behind the other millions of years ago. You heard that right: This stuff moves slower than a horror film victim, screaming instead of fleeing from impending doom. Galactic collisions, for all their violence, occur over several hundred million years.
As many as 25 percent of galaxiesare merging with others right now, and likely even more are affecting neighboring galaxies with their gravity. These interactions and exchanges of material often result in intense bursts of star formation, strongly implying the connection between galaxy mergers and the births of stars, according to the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
Combining data from Webb and Hubble has benefits for scientists because the observatories detect light at different wavelengths. To get the full picture of a cosmic object, it helps to have the full range of its electromagnetic spectrum, NASA says. Hubble senses visible light, while Webb picks up invisible light at infrared wavelengths. In short, a lot of dust and gas in space obscures the view to extremely distant and inherently dim light sources, but infrared waves can penetrate through the clouds.
Evidence of the previous scrap between the galaxies appears in the shock fronts, where material from the galaxies has crashed into each other, represented in the image at the top of this story in bright red lines and distorted arms.
"Even more tendrils look like they’re hanging between the galaxies’ cores," according to the institute. "Another extension 'drifts' off the top of the larger galaxy, forming a thin, semi-transparent arm that practically runs off screen."
And it seems the confrontation has already supplied the galaxies with star formation fuel. The areas of bright blue, captured by Hubble in ultraviolet light, and pink and white, mainly caught in mid-infrared by Webb, are star-forming regions.
Some super star clusters peek out in the highest spiral arm that wraps above the larger galaxy on the right. Other bright spots are mini starbursts — locations where new baby stars are churned out rapidly. All around the core of the smaller galaxy on the left is evidence of new stars burning brightly.
This pair of galaxies makes roughly two dozen new stars, each about the size of the sun, every year. That's about eight times more than the Milky Way's rate. The duo has also hosted about seven supernovas, cataclysmic star explosions, over the past few decades. That might not sound like many, but that's high compared to the average two per century in our home galaxy.
Over eons, the galaxies may continue having these sorts of dalliances, before ultimately merging. It's hard to know how exactly it will unfold, but scientists think their cores could eventually converge into one. The process will wind down after the interacting regions run out of fuel for making new stars.
Topics NASA
'Game of Thrones' Season 7 premiere photos are hereLG to launch another bigA Quentin Tarantino movie about the Manson murders is a disgusting ideaHow to protest online for the Day of Action to Save Net NeutralityHeed lord Zuckerberg's rules of visitation, lest your tiny village face great perilNASA's closest photos of Jupiter's Great Red Spot don't disappointHere's a sad list of iPhone 8 features Apple is reportedly struggling withWhite Walkers invade the streets of London ahead of next 'Game of Thrones'7 'Game of Thrones' fan theories you need to know going into Season 7Latest iOS 11 beta hints at possible livestreaming featureBlizzard reveals the first official cities in the 'Overwatch' LeagueDonald Trump Jr. and the rest of us will never stop using emailMassive Verizon data breach exposes up to 14 million accountsGoogle Earth's Voyager tool could be the next great social networkGoogle Drive's full system backup and sync app is available now'Pokémon Go' players can team up for global rewards this monthChina's version of Amazon's cashierFeuding neighbor gets revenge you can only see on Google MapsProfessor writes rant after no one shows up to his classAT&T miraculously avoids choking on its own bullsh*t in net neutrality pledge What to know before buying something from TikTok Shop Here's who we think will fly to the moon with SpaceX The Host by Alana Pockros Trump really doesn't want to face these 21 kids on climate change The complete list of winners at the 2024 Grammy Awards main ceremony Feral Goblin: Hospital Diary by Kate Riley Scrabble, Anonymous by Brad Phillips Costco in Cancún by Simon Wu Best Apple AirTag deal: 20% off Apple AirTags at Amazon Facebook launched 20 years ago. It changed the internet forever. Wordle today: The answer and hints for February 6 Story Time by Cynthia Zarin Book as Enemy by Adania Shibli At the Five Hundred Ponies Sale by Alyse Burnside Wild elephants get a lot less sleep than you do Announcing Our Summer Issue by Emily Stokes Sad People Who Smoke: On Mary Robison by Adam Wilson Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department': Everything we know 'True Detective: Night Country' episode 5 is airing early. Here's when. Between the World and the Universe, a Woman Is Thinking by Sara Nicholson
2.6432s , 10133.34375 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【Stella Actor | Adult Movies Online】,Charm Information Network