The Colliding Spiral
Galaxies of Arp 271
What will become of
these galaxies? Spiral
galaxies NGC 5426 and NGC 5427 are passing dangerously close to each
other, but each is likely to survive this collision.
Typically when galaxies collide, a large
galaxy eats a much smaller galaxy. In this case, however, the two galaxies are
quite similar, each being a sprawling spiral with
expansive arms and a compact core.
As the galaxies advance
over the next tens of millions of years, their component stars are unlikely to
collide, although new stars will form in the bunching of gas caused by gravitational
tides. Close inspection of the image taken by the 8-meter Gemini-South Telescope in Chile shows a bridge of
material momentarily connecting the two giants.
Known collectively as Arp 271, the
interacting pair spans about 130,000 light
years and lies about 90 million light-years away toward the constellation of Virgo.
Recent predictions hold
that our Milky Way
Galaxy will undergo a similar
collision with the neighboring Andromeda Galaxy in
a few billion years.
