Robby
02-24-2008, 06:55 AM
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0802/ngc4676_hst.jpg (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0802/ngc4676_hst_big.jpg)
NGC 4676: When Mice Collide
Credit: ACS Science & Engineering Team (http://acs.pha.jhu.edu/general/personnel/ sci-team/), Hubble Space Telescope (http://www.stsci.edu/hst/), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/)
Explanation: These two mighty galaxies are pulling each other apart. Known as " The Mice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse)" because they have such long tails, each spiral galaxy (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/spiral_galaxies.html) has likely already passed through the other. They will probably collide again and again until they coalesce. The long tails (http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/NAS/NAS.html) are created by the relative difference between gravitational pulls (http://www.clupeid.demon.co.uk/tides/ simple.html) on the near and far parts of each galaxy. Because the distances are so large, the cosmic interaction takes place in slow motion -- over hundreds of millions of years. NGC 4676 (http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1974ApJ...187..219S) lies about 300 million light-years (http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html) away toward the constellation of Bernice's Hair (Coma Berenices (http://www.astronomical.org/portal/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=25)) and are likely members (http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1961ApJ...133..726B) of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060321.html). The above picture (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2002/11#d) was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html)'s Advanced Camera for Surveys (http://acs.pha.jhu.edu/) which is more sensitive and images a larger field than previous Hubble cameras. The camera's increased sensitivity has imaged, serendipitously, galaxies far (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000709.html) in the distance scattered about the frame.
(Via NASA (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080224.html))
NGC 4676: When Mice Collide
Credit: ACS Science & Engineering Team (http://acs.pha.jhu.edu/general/personnel/ sci-team/), Hubble Space Telescope (http://www.stsci.edu/hst/), NASA (http://www.nasa.gov/)
Explanation: These two mighty galaxies are pulling each other apart. Known as " The Mice (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mouse)" because they have such long tails, each spiral galaxy (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/spiral_galaxies.html) has likely already passed through the other. They will probably collide again and again until they coalesce. The long tails (http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/NAS/NAS.html) are created by the relative difference between gravitational pulls (http://www.clupeid.demon.co.uk/tides/ simple.html) on the near and far parts of each galaxy. Because the distances are so large, the cosmic interaction takes place in slow motion -- over hundreds of millions of years. NGC 4676 (http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1974ApJ...187..219S) lies about 300 million light-years (http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html) away toward the constellation of Bernice's Hair (Coma Berenices (http://www.astronomical.org/portal/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=25)) and are likely members (http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ nph-iarticle_query?bibcode=1961ApJ...133..726B) of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060321.html). The above picture (http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2002/11#d) was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010806.html)'s Advanced Camera for Surveys (http://acs.pha.jhu.edu/) which is more sensitive and images a larger field than previous Hubble cameras. The camera's increased sensitivity has imaged, serendipitously, galaxies far (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000709.html) in the distance scattered about the frame.
(Via NASA (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080224.html))