Copyright:Vikas Chander
中文翻譯:
在遙遠的宇宙裡，大星球會吞噬小星球，就像我們的銀河系一樣，會吸收那些離得太近的小星球。其實，這種現象在宇宙中非常常見，就像這對在南方的星座埃里丹斯（Eridanus）裡互相吸引的兩個星系一樣。它們叫做NGC 1532和NGC 1531，距離我們超過五千萬光年。大星系NGC 1532像是一個扭曲的螺旋星系，和小星系NGC 1531正在進行激烈的引力鬥爭，而小星系最終會輸掉這場鬥爭。這幅畫面看起來像是從側面觀察到的，NGC 1532大約有十萬光年那麼長。科學家認為這對星系和著名的M51星系組合也非常相似。
原文:
Large galaxies grow by eating small ones. Even our own galaxy engages in a sort of galactic cannibalism, absorbing small galaxies that are too close and are captured by the Milky Way’s gravity. In fact, the practice is common in the universe and illustrated by this striking pair of interacting galaxies from the banks of the southern constellation Eridanus, The River. Located over 50 million light years away, the large, distorted spiral NGC 1532 is seen locked in a gravitational struggle with dwarf galaxy NGC 1531, a struggle the smaller galaxy will eventually lose. Seen nearly edge-on, in this sharp image spiral NGC 1532 spans about 100,000 light-years. The NGC 1532/1531 pair is thought to be similar to the well-studied system of face-on spiral and small companion known as M51.
來源:NASA每日圖片
