Ballet of interacting galaxies

The pair of galaxies NGC 1531/2, engaged in a spirited waltz, is located about 70 million light-years away towards the southern constellation Eridanus (The River). The deformed foreground spiral galaxy laced with dust lanes NGC 1532 is so close to its companion — the background galaxy with a bright core just above the centre of NGC 1532 — that it gets distorted: one of its spiral arms is warped and plumes of dust and gas are visible above its disc. The cosmic dance leads to another dramatic effect: a whole new generation of massive stars were born in NGC 1532 because of the interaction. They are visible as the purple objects in the spiral arms.

This exquisite image was made using the 1.5-metre Danish telescope at the ESO La Silla Observatory, Chile. It is based on data obtained through three different filters: B, V and R. The field of view is 12 x 12 arcmin.

Oikeudet:

ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R.Gendler and J.-E. Ovaldsen

Kuvasta

Tunnistus:ngc1532
Tyyppi:Havainto
Julkaisupäivä:3. joulukuuta 2009 23:20
Koko:1920 x 1744 px

Kohteesta

Nimi:NGC 1531, NGC 1532
Tyyppi:Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Lenticular
Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral
Etäisyys:50 miljoona valovuotta
Constellation:Eridanus
Kategoria:Galaxies

Kuvaformaatit

Suuri JPEG
479,8 KB
Kokoruudun JPEG
99,5 KB

Taustakuvat

1024x768
132,1 KB
1280x1024
208,8 KB
1600x1200
310,8 KB
1920x1200
425,4 KB
2048x1536
514,5 KB

Koordinaatit

Position (RA):4 12 4.34
Position (Dec):-32° 52' 27.13"
Field of view:12.62 x 11.46 arcminutes
Suuntaus:Pohjoinen on 45.2° vasen pystysuuntaan nähden