![Request for Information – Potential [Placeholder for Prize]](https://assets.science.nasa.gov/dynamicimage/assets/science/psd/solar/2023/09/s/solarsystem_0.jpg?w=1024)
APOD
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
NGC 1275: A Galactic Collision
Explanation: In NGC 1275, one galaxy is slicing through another. The disk of the dust y spiral galaxy near the image center is cutting through a large elliptical galaxy , visible predominantly on the lower left. Galaxies can change significantly during a collision like this, with gravitational tides distorting each galaxy and gas clouds being compressed and lighting up with new star formation . Galaxy collisions occur in slow motion to the human eye , with a single pass taking as much as 100 million years. NGC 1275 is a member of the Perseus cluster of galaxies that lies about 230 million light years away toward the constellation of Perseus . Each galaxy spans about 50,000 light years across. The above picture is a composite of images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 and 2001.
| Date | May 5, 2003 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA ), M. Donahue ( STScI ) & J. Trauger ( JPL ), NASA |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |