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A new photo of The Hubble Space Telescope shows the dramatic consequences of the collision of two galaxies.
The image recently released by Hubble shows galaxy NGC 4485, which has been deformed and twisted for millions of years by a much larger galaxy in the vicinity. according to a statement from Hubble, the image reveals the complex forms formed by gravity in this galaxy. The photo also shows the long currents of bright stars, gas and dust torn from NGC 4485 by the galaxy nearby NGC 4490, which is not shown.
The two galaxies are about 30 million light-years from Earth, located in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici, hunting dogs, near the constellation Ursa Major, Ursa Major. Together, the two galaxies form a pair called Arp 269.
Related: When galaxies meet: photos of large galactic crashes
The galaxy NGC 4485 has been significantly deformed by a larger neighbor, NGC 4490, out of the frame at the bottom right of this image.
(Image: © ESA / Hubble / NASA)
The two galaxies now move away from each other, after being close to each other – a meeting that left them connected by a vast galactic material flow of about 25 000 light-years, according to the release.
The flow consists of knots and pockets of gas and cosmic dust, as well as bright regions, forming stars, where young, massive, blue. the stars are being born.
Massive blue stars live fast and die young, ending their lives in dramatic explosions when they run out of nuclear fuel after a few million years. The debris from these explosions, in turn, react with heavier elements present in the gases and dust of the cosmic environment and give birth to new generations of stars.
Hubble researchers stated in their statement that the new photograph shows two distinct regions around the affected galaxy; one, on the left, represents the remains of the previous spiral structure of the galaxy, which used to evolve as a normal galaxy.
And the right side of the picture shows how stars, gases, dust and bright star formation regions of NGC 4485 have been destroyed by the gravity of the larger galactic neighbor.
This image provides "additional information on the complex and mysterious field of evolution of galaxies," researchers said in a statement.
The Hubble Space Telescope continues to produce spectacular photographs at the confines of space, although the observatory is already 29 years old and was to last only 10.
This last image is the second published by Hubble of this tortured galaxy; a photo of NGC 4485 published in 2014 showed the galaxy in wavelengths of light more limited and with much less detail.
Two additional filters were used to make the last photograph. they were connected to Hubble's wide-field camera 3, the most advanced space telescope instrument, which is operated jointly by NASA and the European Space Agency.
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