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Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 6786

Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 6786

This Hubble image displays a beautiful pair of interacting spiral galaxies with swirling arms. The smaller of the two, dubbed LEDA 62867 and positioned to the left of the frame, seems to be safe for now, but will probably be swallowed by the larger spiral galaxy, NGC 6786 (to the right) eventually. There is already some disturbance visible in both components. The pair is number 538 in Karachentsev's Catalog of Pairs of Galaxies. A supernova was seen to explode in the large spiral in 2004. NGC 6786 is located in the constellation of Draco, the Dragon, about 350 million light-years away.

This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    19h 10m 59.65s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    73° 25' 3.79"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Draco
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    350 million light-years (100 million parsecs)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    HST Proposal: 10592 A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    March 10, 2002, Exposure Time: 40 minutes
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F435W (B) and F814W (I)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 6786, UGC11415, VV 414, KPG 538, LEDA 62867
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Interacting Galaxies
  • Release Date
    April 24, 2008
  • Science Release
    Cosmic Collisions Galore!
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

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Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 6786
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

Blue: F435W (B) Green: F435W (B) + F814W (I) Red: F814W (I)

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov