This odd-looking galaxy appears to be a spiral galaxy with a long tidal plume extending out. This is known as Arp 122 and is actually not one, but two separate galaxies. NGC 6040 is the curved spiral galaxy we see with the naked eye, while LEDA 59642 is the round spiral galaxy. The two collide about 540 million light-years from Earth, providing a preview of a future collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda.
What will Arp 122 look like when the merger is complete? THE Universe Today according to the current merger will take hundreds of millions of years, so be patient.
Although galactic mergers are incredibly dramatic events, they happen very slowly due to their massive scale. But still, even a slow-motion collision can create chaos and grandeur. Star formation begins to accelerate from the collision of gas clouds and extreme gravitational interactions. Merged galaxies can shine up to ten times brighter than individually. Over time, this completely changes the structure of the two (or more) colliding galaxies, resulting in a single, merged galaxy.
Collisions can also create quite amazing features, called tidal streaks, such as those seen in Arp 122. Other features that look like wrinkles may also develop. These are similar to how waves are created when a stone is thrown into a lake. Astronomers have learned how to interpret the various features to learn more about the original galaxies and their collisions.
That is why there is no need to worry about the collision between the Milky Way and its nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy. Because we have to wait at least another four billion years for them to meet.
Worth reading:
2024-01-19 20:34:56
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