Galaxies Collide in NGC 3256
Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage (STScI / AURA) - ESA/Hubble Collaboration, & A. Evans (UVa, NRAO, SUNYSB)
Posted on 05/06/2008 2:25:12 PM PDT by sig226
Explanation: Galaxies don't normally look like this. NGC 3256 actually shows a current picture of two galaxies that are slowly colliding. Quite possibly, in hundreds of millions of years, only one galaxy will remain. Today, however, NGC 3256 shows intricate filaments of dark dust, unusual tidal tails of stars, and a peculiar center that contains two distinct nuclei. Although it is likely that no stars in the two galaxies will directly collide, the gas, dust, and ambient magnetic fields do interact directly. NGC 3256, part of the vast Hydra-Centaurus supercluster of galaxies, spans over 100 thousand light-years across and is located about 100 million light-years away.
Amazing picture
I don’t know about them, but I can’t discern two distinct nuclei.
Great picture.
Could you please add me to your ping list for these items?
This must be George Bush's fault. Where's fatso Kennedy?
I can’t see it, either, and the hi res version isn’t much better. But they have much better toys, and probably some sophisticated spectral analysis which would look rather dull.
And some people say they don’t believe in God.
If that is the end of the universe, it raises all kinds of questions about creation which might best be answered by a urologists or proctologists, rather than physicists and theologians.
Hmmmm.
beautiful, simply beautiful.
Looks positively phallic to me.
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