Galaxy merger are some of the most important events in the universe , and since the Big Bang they have been shape how coltsfoot form and evolve . By watch and studying fusion , astronomer can get wind a lot about the processes go on inner Galax urceolata .
The latest image from theNASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescopeshows two galaxy that have almost become one . The object , called NGC 6052 , was for a long time thought to be an abnormal galaxy before it was discovered that it ’s in reality two galaxies in the final stage of a merger . The galaxy is located 230 million sluttish - years aside in the constellation of Hercules and the picture was snapped by theWide Field Planetary Camera 2 .
Galaxy collision are slow , and in the modern universe they ’re also an rare event ; only about3 percentof ( comparatively near ) galaxies are merger . When two big galaxies are close together , they start corkscrew around each other and , over time , begin to disrupt their regular structure and unify into a single object .
The unconscious process is boring enough for the original hotshot not to be affected too much . They might be moved to different orbits , but most of them will continue to shine unaffected . The chassis of a galaxy is given by how the stars are disseminate , and since things are quickly changing during mergers , they miss the steady structure of spirals and elliptical galaxy .
But a merger is not a simple reshaping of two galaxies . galaxy , especially spirals , have a large amount of flatulency in them , and when they coalesce , the strong tidal force-out kick - off an vivid genius - formation epoch . NGC 6052 has been forming new stars for the last 400 million old age , at a pace of 42 stars with the mass of the Sun every year . Between12 and 60 per centum of the starsin the extragalactic nebula were formed during the unification .
The NGC 6052 merger will continue for many millions of age , if not trillion , and the final unchanging shape it will have will be significantly dissimilar from the shape of the parent wandflower that we can see immix today .
The exposure of NGC 6052 as snap by Hubble ’s across-the-board Field Camera . ESA / Hubble / NASA / Judy Schmidt
