![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.
Antennae Galaxies in Near-Infrared
Explanation: What happens when galaxies collide ? One of the best studied examples of the jumble of star clusters, gas, and dust clouds produced by such a cosmic train wreck is the interacting galaxy pair NGC 4038 / NGC 4039, the Antennae Galaxies , only sixty million light-years away. In visible light images, long, luminous tendrils of material seem to reach out from the galactic wreckage , lending the entwined pair an insect-like appearance. But this penetrating view from the new Wide-field InfraRed Camera ( WIRC ) attached to the Palomar Observatory's 200 inch Hale telescope shows, in false-color, details of some otherwise hidden features. The large central nuclei of the two original galaxies dominate the near-infrared scene speckled with other bright sources which are themselves giant, newly formed star clusters . Remarkably the northern (topmost) nucleus, obscured in optical images, is also revealed here to have a barred, mini-spiral structure reminiscent of many “single” spiral galaxies.
| Date | April 11, 2002 |
|---|---|
| Credit | Credit: Bernhard Brandl and the WIRC team ( Cornell ), Palomar Observatory |
| Authors & editors: | Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP) |
| A service of: |
ASD at NASA / GSFC, NASA Science Activation & Michigan Tech. U. |