Hubble Views a Cosmic Interaction between Two Galaxies

NASA have released this impressive image taken by Hubble of two Galaxies , NGC 169 on the bottom and IC 1559 above it which shows the interaction between the two as their respective gravitational forces swap matter and even star systems between the two.
The embracing Galaxies are about 150 million Light Years from Earth.

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope feels incredibly three-dimensional for a piece of deep-space imagery. The image shows Arp 282, an interacting galaxy pair composed of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 169 (bottom) and the galaxy IC 1559 (top). Interestingly, both galaxies have monumentally energetic cores known as active galactic nuclei (AGN), although that is difficult to tell from this image, which is fortunate. If the image revealed the full emission of both AGNs, their brilliance would obscure the beautifully detailed tidal interactions we see in this image. Tidal forces occur when an object’s gravity causes another object to distort or stretch. The direction of tidal forces is away from the lower-mass object and toward the higher mass object. When two galaxies tidally interact, gas, dust, and even entire star systems can move toward one galaxy and away from the other. The image reveals this process in action as delicate streams of matter visibly link the two galaxies.

Astronomers now accept that an important aspect of how galaxies evolve is the way they interact with one another. Galaxies can merge, collide, or brush past one another – each interaction significantly affecting their shapes and structures. As common as such interactions may be, it is rare to capture an image of two galaxies interacting in such a visibly dynamic way.
www.nasa.gov...

With St Valentine's Day just around the corner how's that for love making on a Galactic scale.
Now that's romance

Of all cosmic events, I find the merger of galaxies to be the most beautiful.

It's a cosmic dance in space powered by gravitational dynamics.

The visible brush strokes of creation.

The picture, probably an artists or computer generated image representation of what is going on , looks sort of like a metal shaker shaking Parmesan cheese on a pizza. No hand visable though, must be the invisable hand of god creating a pizza.

a reply to: gortex

Stunningly beautiful.

Chaos, but beautiful.

Thanks as always for posting these.

Next up, Andromeda Galaxy.




Edit::
youtu.be...


At one point I was watching his shows. He said as galaxy collide, planets, stars... they will pass without hitting eachother. Wish I could find it. It was on the Discovery.

a reply to: rickymouse

The picture, probably an artists or computer generated image representation of what is going on

The picture is an optical light image from Hubble using its Advanced Camera for Surveys so not computer generated or an artists impression.
esahubble.org...

I'm surprised we have had it so quiet for so long , Comets Asteroids Solar Flares Wandering Black Holes - I still for the life of me look at the Sun and say just how does it have that much fuel seriously that's the longest fire ever !

a reply to: Ravenwatcher

I have often wondered that myself.

And where all that fuel came from?

Im not questioning it, just wondering.

originally posted by: gortex
a reply to: rickymouse

The picture, probably an artists or computer generated image representation of what is going on

The picture is an optical light image from Hubble using its Advanced Camera for Surveys so not computer generated or an artists impression.
esahubble.org...

On the right there is a full size original...which I am getting close to my max of one hundred fifty gigs without being charged more if I go over. I saw the originals from the Hubble a few times and they do not look like this picture looks. The data collected is processed to make the image, this is most likely not the actual picture from the telescope. Unless they changed the telescope in it in the last two years that I am not aware of. The camera collects frequency data and combines it into a picture then I guess it is colorized.

Maybe you have unlimited data to open that file, we have DSL too, it is very slow.

a reply to: rickymouse

Yeah I the viewer on the right side (not the big full sized file) and it gives you the option to crossfade the image (superimpose the high-res wallpaper-quality galaxy image over the original) in the bottom left when you open the viewer here esahubble.org...
move the slider (blue slider bottom left) left and right and you'll see what I mean

either way makes a good desktop wallpaper whether it came from the telescope's advanced camera or not

Honk

originally posted by: Ravenwatcher
I'm surprised we have had it so quiet for so long , Comets Asteroids Solar Flares Wandering Black Holes - I still for the life of me look at the Sun and say just how does it have that much fuel seriously that's the longest fire ever !

So long for us down the road.😊
"Astronomers estimate that the sun has about 7 billion to 8 billion years left before it sputters out and dies. One way or another, humanity may well be long gone by then.Jan 7, 2022
www.space.com... › 14732-sun...
When will the sun die? "| Space😊

Just because.

It’s almost as if it’s furnace is getting fuel from another source.

a reply to: Ravenwatcher

a reply to: Ravenwatcher

The equivalent of 15 Billion hydrogen bombs detonating every second inside of the Sun.

a reply to: gortex

I think the smaller one is NGC169A. I also think the photograph is upside-down. But yes, this does not change a bit the impressive cosmic event. A beautiful pic.