A Trio of Interacting GalaxiesThese three galaxies share more than just a similar position in the sky in the minor constellation of Sextans. From their shapes and colors we know that they have had an influence on each other's development in the past, probably because of a close encounter between them. The many pink clouds in the galaxy on the left are places of active star formation; the gas surrounding these new, massive stars glows in the light of hydrogen. The dim, bluish galaxy on the right edge is also undergoing active star formation despite its small size - something must have triggered that.The galaxy in between looks more like a normal spiral galaxy, but in fact has a nucleus that is far brighter than normal. Its distorted spiral arms also show that it has had a somewhat tortured past. This trio of galaxies lies over 65 million light years from our Earth; the light that we see left them about the same time that dinosaurs were largely wiped out on Earth. |
|