NGC 7771 Galaxy Group
Credit & Copyright: Kent Biggs
Posted on 08/29/2009 6:02:55 AM PDT by sig226
Explanation: Slide your cursor over the image to identify three members of this intriguing gathering of galaxies. Known as the NGC 7771 Group, they lie almost 200 million light-years away toward the high flying constellation Pegasus. The largest galaxy, barred spiral NGC 7771, is itself about 75,000 light-years across, but will someday find itself part of a larger galaxy still. As the galaxies of the group make repeated close passages, they will finally merge into one very large galaxy. Played out over hundreds of millions of years, the process is understood to be a normal part of the evolution of galaxies, including our own Milky Way.
What civilizations are there? What strange empires? Or is it only some little green man in his back yard looking up and wondering "Is anyone out there?"
When you consider the sizes and distances involved in just this one image, it staggers the mind. That’s an amazing image!
Let’s keep in mind that we should be seeing the first images from the upgraded Hubble Space Telescope sometime in the next few weeks. NASA said they would try to release some before and after images in order to demonstrate how much more cpable Hubble is....
The mating dance of the galaxies. Amazing.
Oh, that will be great!
Stunning.
Pastels in the Hand of The Almighty.
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