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To celebrate a new year, the NASA/THIS The Hubble Space Telescope released a montage of six stunning galaxy mergers. Each of these fusion systems was studied as part of the recent HiPEEC investigation to study the rate of new star formation in these systems. These interactions are a key aspect of the evolution of galaxies and are among the most spectacular events in the life of a galaxy.
It is during rare fusion events that galaxies undergo dramatic changes in their appearance and stellar content. These systems are excellent laboratories for tracking the formation of star clusters under extreme physical conditions.
the Milky Way generally forms star clusters whose masses are 10 thousand times the mass of our Sun. It doesn’t compare to the masses of star clusters that form in colliding galaxies, which can be millions of times the mass of our Sun.
These dense star systems are also very bright. Even after the collision, when the resulting galactic system begins to merge into a calmer phase, these very massive star clusters will shine throughout their host galaxy, as enduring witnesses to past fusion events.
By studying the six galaxy mergers presented here, the Hubble Imaging Probe of Extreme Environments and Clusters (HiPEEC) survey investigated how star clusters are affected in collisions by the rapid changes that dramatically increase the rate at which new stars form in these galaxies.
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This image of NGC 3256 was taken with Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), both installed on the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy is about 100 million light years from Earth and is an ideal target for studying star explosions triggered by galaxy mergers. Credit: ESA / Hubble, NASA
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The NGC 1614 galaxy system has a bright optical center and two clear inner spiral arms that are quite symmetrical. It also has a spectacular outer structure which consists mainly of a large one-sided curved extension of one of those arms on the lower right, and a long, almost straight tail that emerges from the core and crosses the extended arm to the upper right. Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI / AURA) -ESA / Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville / NRAO / Stony Brook University)
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NGC 4194 is also known as the Medusa Fusion. A primitive galaxy has consumed a smaller, gas-rich system, sending floods of stars and dust into space. These streams, seen rising from the top of the Fusion Galaxy, resemble the writhing snakes that Medusa, a monster from ancient Greek mythology, had on his head instead of hair, giving the object its intriguing name. . The Medusa Fusion is located approximately 130 million light years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Big Dipper). Credit: ESA / Hubble & NASA, A. Adamo
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This system consists of a pair of galaxies, dubbed IC 694 and NGC 3690, which made a close passage around 700 million years ago. As a result of this interaction, the system underwent a fierce star-forming explosion. In the past fifteen years or so, six supernovae have appeared in the far reaches of the galaxy, making this system a distinguished supernova factory. Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI / AURA) -ESA / Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville / NRAO / Stony Brook University)
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Located in the constellation of Hercules, about 230 million light years away, NGC 6052 is a pair of colliding galaxies. They were first discovered in 1784 by William Herschel and were originally classified as a single irregular galaxy due to their odd shape. However, we now know that NGC 6052 actually consists of two galaxies which are colliding. This particular image of NGC 6052 was taken using the Hubble Wide Field Camera 3. Credit: ESA / Hubble and NASA, A. Adamo et al.
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Located in the constellation Cetus (the sea monster), the outer region of NGC 34 appears almost translucent, a pin pricked with stars and weird wispy tendrils. This image shows the bright center of the galaxy, the result of this fusion event that created an explosion of new star formation and lit the surrounding gas. As the galaxies continue to intertwine and become one, the shape of NGC 34 will look more like that of a particular galaxy, devoid of any distinct shape. Credit: ESA / Hubble and NASA, A. Adamo et al.
Hubble’s capabilities have made it possible to resolve large star-forming “nodes” into many young, compact star clusters. Hubble’s ultraviolet and near infrared observations from these systems were used to derive the ages, masses and extinctions of star clusters and to analyze the rate of star formation in these six molten galaxies.
The HiPEEC study reveals that the populations of star clusters undergo large and rapid variations in their properties, the most massive clusters being formed towards the end of the fusion phase.
Each of the fusion systems shown here has already been released by Hubble, as early as 2008 and as recently as October 2020. To celebrate its 18th anniversary in 2008, the Hubble Space Telescope released a collection of 59 images of molten galaxies, which can be explored here.
More information
Reference: “Star Cluster Formation in the Most Extreme Environments: Insights from the HiPEEC Survey” by A Adamo, K Hollyhead, M Messa, JE Ryon, V Bajaj, A Runnholm, S Aalto, D Calzetti, JS Gallagher, MJ Hayes, JMD Kruijssen, S König, SS Larsen, J Melinder, E Sabbi, LJ Smith and G Östlin, September 3, 2020, Monthly notices from the Royal Astronomical Society.
DOI: 10.1093 / mnras / staa2380
The Hubble Space Telescope is an international cooperation project between ESA and NASA.
The HiPEEC survey was carried out as part of the Hubble GO 14066 space telescope program (PI: A. Adamo). A repository containing the final data and the study catalogs is available here in the MAST archives.
The international team of astronomers for this study consists of A. Adamo, K. Hollyhead, M. Messa, JE Ryon, V. Bajaj, A. Runholm, A. Aalto, D. Calzeti, JS Gallagher, MJ Hayes, JMD Kruijssen, S. König, SS Larsen, J. Melinder, E. Sabbi, LJ Smith and G. Östlin.
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