Collisions between galaxies may sound both spectacular and rare. In fact, this phenomenon is actually very common, you know.
The galaxies in universe must have collided with other galaxies in the past. Likewise with the Milky Way galaxy that we live in today. Instead of being destroyed, two or more colliding galaxies will merge into a giant galaxy.
Want to see the beauty behind the collision between galaxies? Come on, take a look through the following images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope!
1. NGC 3256 is the result of a collision of two galaxies that began 500 million years ago. This giant spiral galaxy is located south of the constellation Vela
portrait of NGC 3256 (apod.nasa.gov/NASA, ESA, Hubble)—
2. Known as the Rat Galaxy, NGC 4676’s long tail is caused by the interaction of the gravitational forces of two colliding galaxies
potret NGC 4676 “The Mice” (esahubble.org)—
3. Located 60 million light years from Earth, the Antennae Galaxy was formed from the collision of NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 that began hundreds of millions of years ago
portrait of the Antennae Galaxy (apod.nasa.gov/NASA, ESA, Hubble)—
4. NGC 520 or known as Arp 157 is the result of the collision of two galaxies located in the direction of the constellation Pisces
potret NGC 520 (esahubble.org)—
5. Located around the constellation Fornax, this unique looking NGC 1316 has devoured a small galaxy nearby
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portrait of NGC 1316 (apod.nasa.gov/NASA, ESA, Hubble)–
6. The interaction between Arp 273 (bottom) and UGC 1810 (top) is beautiful, isn’t it? In the next billion years, UGC 1810 will devour its companions and form a giant spiral galaxy
portrait Arp 273 (apod.nasa.gov/NASA, ESA, Hubble)—
7. Portrait of an interesting attraction between two galaxies named Arp 87
portrait Arp 87 (apod.nasa.gov/NASA, ESA, Hubble)—
8. Behind the beauty of NGC 6240, there are three supermassive black holes in it indicating there are three galaxies that are colliding
potret NGC 6240 (nasa.gov)—
9. Not just two or three galaxies, Arp 194 is a collision between galaxy clusters
portrait Arp 194 (apod.nasa.gov/NASA, ESA, Hubble)–
Right now, actually galaksi bima sakti has begun to interact with the Andromeda galaxy. Both will create a giant galaxy called Milkomeda in approximately 5 billion years. Approximately, in the next billion years, human civilization can still survive or not, huh?