Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Herschel Observatory Finds Mega Merger of Galaxies

Close-up view of two galaxies, collectively called HXMM01, with the merging galaxies circled. Image credit: ESA/NASA/JPL-Caltech/UC Irvine/STScI/Keck/NRAO/SAOA massive and rare merging of two galaxies has been spotted in images taken by the Herschel space observatory, a European Space Agency mission with important NASA participation.

The findings help explain a mystery in astronomy: whether elliptical galaxies built up slowly over time through the acquisitions of smaller galaxies, or formed more rapidly through powerful collisions between two large galaxies.

1 comment:

  1. This is a great post Eric. I am glad you are back on the blog.

    Mr. Ronelus

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