Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Corvus (Crv)  ·  Contains:  Antennae Galaxies  ·  NGC 4038  ·  NGC 4039
Antennae Galaxies - NGC 4038-9, Warren A. Keller
Antennae Galaxies - NGC 4038-9
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Antennae Galaxies - NGC 4038-9

Antennae Galaxies - NGC 4038-9, Warren A. Keller
Antennae Galaxies - NGC 4038-9
Powered byPixInsight

Antennae Galaxies - NGC 4038-9

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Description

NGC 4038 and 4039 in Corvus ​are a spectacular pair of galaxies under collision! Discovered by William Herschel in 1785, they are experiencing rapid starburst. Before they began to approach each other some 1,000,000,000 years ago, they likely looked similar to NGC 2207 and IC 2163. 300,000,000 years ago, both galaxies began to release the antenna-like star streams which give the duo its popular name. It is estimated that within 400,000,000 years, the two nuclei will merge, forming a single elliptical galaxy. The data was taken at SSRO.

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Antennae Galaxies - NGC 4038-9, Warren A. Keller