galaxy collision – Astronomy Now

A galactic train wreck triggers spasms of star birth

23 February 2022 Astronomy Now

Two galaxies passing through one another in a head-on collision generate a burst of star formation in an intriguing triangular shape caused by ongoing gravitational interactions.

Galaxy collisions highlight another year in space for Hubble

7 January 2021 Astronomy Now

Galaxy mergers provide spectacular targets for the Hubble Space Telescope as it enters new year in space.

Four galaxy clusters merging in colossal collision

31 October 2019 Astronomy Now

Astronomers have caught four galaxy clusters in the process of merging, a collision expected to eventually form one of the most massive objects in the universe.

Colliding galaxies provide a Hubble harbinger of Halloween

28 October 2019 Astronomy Now

A ghostly “head” stares out from the depths of space in this Hubble Space Telescope image of two galaxies crashing into each other 704 light years away, a captivating harbinger of Halloween. The photo was captured in an ongoing survey of interacting galaxies to learn more about how such systems evolve.

Galactic hit-and-run collision spawns firestorm of starbirth in its wake

20 May 2019 Astronomy Now

A glancing collision between two galaxies in the distant past triggered a firestorm of starbirth in the smaller of the two, leaving one side relatively intact while the other was set ablaze by gravitational stresses.

A ringside seat for a slow-motion galactic train wreck

8 March 2018 William Harwood

The Hubble Space Telescope captures a snapshot of a collision between two galaxies 350 million light years away in the constellation Cetus, giving astronomers a ringside seat to a slow-motion merger that eventually will result in a single combined galaxy. Gravitational interactions are distorting the barred spirals, ripping away stars and dust.

The Atoms for Peace

24 December 2015 Keith Cooper

Some 220 million light years away lies this wreckage of a billion-year old cosmic collision, formed from two galaxies that crashed into one another and merged.

Celestial firework marks nearest galaxy collision

16 August 2015 Astronomy Now

A spectacular galaxy collision has been discovered lurking behind the Milky Way, the closest such system ever found. “Kathryn’s Wheel” was found during a special wide field survey of the Southern Milky Way with the UK Schmidt Telescope in Australia. Such systems are very rare and arise from “bull’s-eye” collisions between two galaxies of similar mass.