NGC 5426/7
Like two skaters grabbing hands while passing, the two galaxies NGC 5427 (lower left) and its twin NGC 5426 (upper right), are beginning a collision that could take a hundred million years to complete. Already a bridge-like feature has begun to form between the galaxies. This intergalactic bridge acts like a feeding tube, allowing the twins to share gas and dust with one other across the 60,000 light years of space separating them. The collision may have also triggered bursts of star formation inside each galaxy. The star-forming, or HII, regions appear as hot pink knots that trace out the spiral patterns in each galaxy. HII regions are common to many spiral systems, but the giant ones in NGC 5426 are curiously knotted and more abundant on the side of the galaxy closest to NGC 5427. Despite their appearance in this two-dimensional image, NGC 5426s western (top) spiral arm is the one closest to us, as opposed to NGC 5427s southeastern (bottom) arm. NGC 5426 is also the closer of the two galaxies.
| Observatory: | Gemini Observatory (South) Cerro Pachon, Chile |
|---|---|
| Telescope: | Gemini South |
| Instrument: | GMOS-S |
| Astronomer: | Gemini Observatory and T. A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage) |
| Date of Observation: | 05-25-2008 |
| Filters and Assigned Colors: | g (blue), r (green), i (yellow) and H-alpha (red) |
| Exposure Times: | 4x6min in g, 3x4min in r,i 3x6min in H-alpha |
| Location of Image: | Virgo |
| Field of View: | 4.8 x 4.5 arcmin |
| Orientation: | Rotated 135 degrees CW from north is up east is to the left |
| Link to Larger Image | |
| Link to Full Resolution Image | |
| © Copyright Statement |