thefinalfrontier Posted March 16, 2009 #1 Share Posted March 16, 2009 (edited) Hearts of Galaxies Close in for Cosmic Train Wreck This image of a pair of colliding galaxies called NGC 6240 shows them in a rare, short-lived phase of their evolution just before they merge into a single, larger galaxy. The prolonged, violent collision has drastically altered the appearance of both galaxies and created huge amounts of heat -- turning NGC 6240 into an "infrared luminous" active galaxy. A rich variety of active galaxies, with different shapes, luminosities and radiation profiles exist. These galaxies may be related -- astronomers have suspected that they may represent an evolutionary sequence. By catching different galaxies in different stages of merging, a story emerges as one type of active galaxy changes into another. NGC 6240 provides an important "missing link" in this process. This image was created from combined data from the infrared array camera of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope at 3.6 and 8.0 microns (red) and visible light from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (green and blue). Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI-ESA Link/Pic. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/spitzer/...r-20090316.html Edited March 16, 2009 by thefinalfrontier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Danger Posted March 17, 2009 #2 Share Posted March 17, 2009 that actualy reminds me... what's the size of the biggest known galaxy in the universe ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefinalfrontier Posted March 17, 2009 Author #3 Share Posted March 17, 2009 (edited) that actualy reminds me... what's the size of the biggest known galaxy in the universe ? Here ya go Dr. Which is the biggest Galaxy in the Universe? In: Astronomy The largest galaxy on record resides inside the Abell 2029 cluster, 1.07 billion light years away in the constellation of Serpens. Designated as IC 1101, the monstrous giant elliptical galaxy measures a whopping 6 million light years (as compared to the 100,000 ly of the Milky Way) in diameter and is said to be at least 60 times as large as the Milky Way. It also contains about 100 trillion stars (200-400 billion for the Milky Way). <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...753C1A966958260" target="_blank">http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...753C1A966958260</a> http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/abell2029/ Source; Wiki answers, http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_is_the_big...in_the_Universe TFF Edited March 17, 2009 by thefinalfrontier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiral Danger Posted March 18, 2009 #4 Share Posted March 18, 2009 Here ya go Dr. Which is the biggest Galaxy in the Universe? In: Astronomy The largest galaxy on record resides inside the Abell 2029 cluster, 1.07 billion light years away in the constellation of Serpens. Designated as IC 1101, the monstrous giant elliptical galaxy measures a whopping 6 million light years (as compared to the 100,000 ly of the Milky Way) in diameter and is said to be at least 60 times as large as the Milky Way. It also contains about 100 trillion stars (200-400 billion for the Milky Way). <a href="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...753C1A966958260" target="_blank">http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...753C1A966958260</a> http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/abell2029/ Source; Wiki answers, http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which_is_the_big...in_the_Universe TFF hey, thanks thats bigger than i expected. i wouldce thought that it woulve been less than a million light years across. but 6 MILLION . WOW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevewinn Posted March 22, 2009 #5 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Isn't our very own milky way made up of a number of galaxies that have collided over billenia (if that's a word) i know our galaxy neighbours orbiting our milky way will one day collied with us has we all group together and eventually collide with the Andromeda galaxy on our way to Virgo. I'd love to witness the day/night sky when Andormeda approaches. it would be a sight for sore eyes alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danielost Posted March 22, 2009 #6 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Isn't our very own milky way made up of a number of galaxies that have collided over billenia (if that's a word) i know our galaxy neighbours orbiting our milky way will one day collied with us has we all group together and eventually collide with the Andromeda galaxy on our way to Virgo. I'd love to witness the day/night sky when Andormeda approaches. it would be a sight for sore eyes alright. 1o million years it turns out that the little ones are not orbitting the milky way just passing by Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggK Posted March 24, 2009 #7 Share Posted March 24, 2009 1o million years it turns out that the little ones are not orbitting the milky way just passing by Are you inferring that the Milky Way is stationary or just going slower and that there may be another on the way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now