Copyright:
原文:
These two mighty galaxies are pulling each other apart. Known as the “Mice” because they have such long tails, each spiral galaxy has likely already passed through the other. The long tails are created by the relative difference between gravitational pulls on the near and far parts of each galaxy. Because the distances are so large, the cosmic interaction takes place in slow motion — over hundreds of millions of years. NGC 4676 lies about 300 million light-years away toward the constellation of Bernice’s Hair (Coma Berenices) and are likely members of the Coma Cluster of Galaxies. The above picture was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys in 2002. These galactic mice will probably collide again and again over the next billion years until they coalesce to form a single galaxy.
中文翻譯:
這兩個強大的星系正在互相拉扯,被稱為「老鼠」(Mice),因為它們擁有非常長的尾巴。每個螺旋星系很可能已經相互穿過。這些長尾巴是由於對於每個星系近端和遠端部分的引力差異所造成的。由於距離非常遙遠,這種宇宙互動的過程如同慢動作,持續了數億年。NGC 4676 距離我們約 3 億光年,位於天區的計劃髮(Coma Berenices)方向,並且可能是 Coma 星團(Coma Cluster of Galaxies)的成員。這張圖片是由哈勃太空望遠鏡的高級巡視相機於 2002 年拍攝的。這對星系老鼠在接下來的十億年間可能會一次又一次地碰撞,最終合併形成一個單一的星系。
#星系交互 #NGC4676 #老鼠星系 #哈勃太空望遠鏡 #宇宙奇觀 #星際碰撞 #科學探索 #宇宙之美 #Coma星團 #太空攝影
來源:NASA每日圖片