Template:POTD/2007-08-03
Picture of the day archives
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2007 August
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Picture of the day
The two
Antennae Galaxies
(NGC 4038 on the left and NGC 4039 on the right) are a pair of
interacting galaxies
in the
constellation
Corvus
that are undergoing a
galactic collision
. They are known as the 'Antennae' because the two long tails of
stars
,
gas
, and
dust
thrown out of the galaxies as a result of the collision resemble the
antennae
of an
insect
. The
nuclei
of the two galaxies are joining to become one supergalaxy. This is likely the future of our
Milky Way
when it collides with
Andromeda
.
Photo credit:
Hubble Space Telescope
Archive
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