Close encounter
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the unusual galaxy IRAS 06076-2139, found in the constellation Lepus (The Hare). Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instruments observed the galaxy from a distance of 500 million light-years. This particular object stands out from the crowd by actually being composed of two separate galaxies rushing past each other at about 2 million kilometres per hour. This speed is most likely too fast for them to merge and form a single galaxy. However, because of their small separation of only about 20 000 light-years, the galaxies will distort one another through the force of gravity while passing each other, changing their structures on a grand scale.
ESA/Hubble & NASA
About the Image
Id: | potw1719a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 8 May 2017, 06:00 |
Size: | 3920 x 3211 px |
About the Object
Name: | IRAS 06076-2139 |
Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting |
Distance: | 500 million light years |
Constellation: | Lepus |
Category: | Galaxies |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 6 9 45.72 |
Position (Dec): | -21° 40' 25.37" |
Field of view: | 3.27 x 2.67 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 50.0° left of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical B | 435 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical B | 435 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Infrared H | 1.545 μm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |