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Simulated Images of Merging Galaxies
These illustrations demonstrate how two galaxies coalesce in a slow dance that lasts about a billion years.
The graphics are taken from a simulation astronomers created to determine how long it takes for galaxies to complete a merger. By understanding the time it takes for two merging systems to become one normal-looking galaxy, astronomers can calculate how many galaxy encounters happen over time. This information yields important clues about how galaxies have changed throughout the universe's history.
- Release DateOctober 27, 2011
- Science ReleaseAstronomers Pin Down Galaxy Collision Rate
- CreditsP. Jonsson (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), G. Novak (Princeton University), and T.J. Cox (Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, Calif.)
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
