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Credit & Copyright: Domingo Pestana
Explanation:
What's happening to this spiral galaxy?
Although details remain uncertain,
it surely has to do with an ongoing battle with its smaller galactic neighbor.
The
featured galaxy
is labelled UGC 1810 by itself, but together with its
collisional partner is known as
Arp 273.
The overall shape of UGC 1810 -- in particular its
blue outer ring --
is likely a result of wild and
violent
gravitational
interactions.
This ring's blue color is caused by massive stars that are
blue hot
and have formed only in the past few million years.
The inner galaxy appears older, redder, and threaded
with cool
filamentary dust.
A few bright
stars appear well in the foreground, unrelated to
UGC 1810, while several galaxies are visible well in the background.
Arp 273 lies about 300 million light years away
toward
the constellation of Andromeda.
Quite likely, UGC 1810 will
devour its
galactic sidekick over the next billion years and settle into a classic
spiral form.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: interacting galaxies
Publications with words: interacting galaxies
See also: