|
|
Arp 270:
Merging Galaxies And Cosmic Collisions
The Chandra image of Arp 270 shows two galaxies
about 90 million light years from Earth in the early
stage of a merger. The future evolution of these
galaxies will be radically changed by the merger as
their mutual gravity distorts their shape, and the
collision of gas clouds in the galaxies stimulates the
formation of new stars.
The hot spots (blue) located where the disks of the
galaxies are colliding are thought to be due to the
formation of hundreds of thousands of new stars as the
two gaseous disks rotate through each other.
These bursts of star formation create many massive
stars that generate intense winds of hot gas, and these
stars eventually explode as supernovas. This violent
activity produces the hot gas clouds that surround the
galaxy disks (red).
Astronomers hope to understand more about how
supermassive black holes are formed in the centers of
galaxies by studying galaxies at different stages in
the merging process. These studies will also provide
valuable insight as to how our own Milky Way Galaxy
formed and evolved.
In the image, red represents low, green intermediate,
and blue high-energy (temperature) X-rays.
|
Fast Facts for Arp
270:
|
|
Credit
|
NASA/U. Birmingham/A.Read
|
|
Scale
|
Image is 4 arcmin on a side.
|
|
Category
|
Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies
|
|
Coordinates
(J2000)
|
RA 10h 49m 52.5s | Dec +32º 59'
6"
|
|
Constellation
|
Leo Minor
|
|
Observation
Date
|
April 28, 2001
|
|
Observation
Time
|
5.5 hours
|
|
Obs.
ID
|
2042
|
|
Color
Code
|
Lower energy X-rays appear red,
medium energy green and high-energy
are blue.
|
|
Instrument
|
ACIS
|
|
Distance
Estimate
|
90 million light years away
|
|
Release Date
|
May 07, 2002
|
|
|
|
