In some recently released Hubble Space Telescope images, colliding galaxies resemble a cosmic toothbrush, an owl in flight, a grasshopper and a butterfly. Check them out on www.youtube.com under, “Hubble captures colliding galaxies.”
But it’s true, galaxies wander. Through the universe that is. And when they crash into contact with each other they merge and rip each other apart. There’s a violent embrace and like a sci-fi animation movie they perform fantastic other-worldly displays that create bizarre looking shapes and form tidal tails when viewed from earth.
ABOUT THIS IMAGE:
NGC 6240 is a peculiar, butterfly- or lobster-shaped galaxy consisting of two smaller merging galaxies. It lies in the constellation of Ophiuchus, the Serpent Holder, some 400 million light-years away. Observations with NASA s Chandra X-ray Observatory have disclosed two giant black holes, about 3,000 light-years apart, which will drift toward one another and eventually merge together into a larger black hole. The merging process, which began about 30 million years ago, triggered dramatic star formation and sparked numerous supernova explosions. The merger will be complete in some tens to hundreds of millions of years.
Credit: This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.
Object Names: NGC 6240, VV 617
Image Type: Astronomical
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
www.hubblesite.org – newscenter
“The violent activity triggers huge bursts of star formation that can churn out new stars 100 times faster than in an undisturbed galaxy like our own Milky Way. This accelerated star birth is followed a few million years later by cosmic fireworks as the heavier, faster-burning stars run out of fuel and explode as supernovae. Eventually, the colliding galaxies merge to form a new, more massive galaxy”, explains David Shiga writing for New Scientist.
Scientists believe that these events offer a preview of our own galaxy’s destiny some 5 billion years from now, when it merges with our neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy.
With all that cosmic turmoil happening out there in space, it makes you wonder why on earth we get so stressed about daily life on earth, doesn’t it?
Source: http://space.newscientist.com, http://hubblesite.org, Wikipedia
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