The Cocoon |
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This unusual-looking pair of galaxies is nicknamed the "Cocoon Galaxy." They
have distorted each other via their mutual gravitational pull. they probably
used to be spiral galaxies prior to their close approach. They are now
receding from each other.
A tail of star clouds stretches between the galaxies, which are separated by at least 24,000 light years; but we are safely 40-50 million light-years from them. The image on the left panel was taken with filters that are sensitive to the starlight in the galaxies. the image on the right panel was made with additional filters that transmit the light emitted by star-forming regions. Note the many star-forming regions along the facing sides of each galaxy. | |