A particularly beautiful example of interactions between galaxies is the object Arp 282 from “List of Strange Galaxies” by astronomer Halton Arp.
The Hubble Space Telescope captured a stunning image of this pair of galaxies, some 300 million light-years away in the constellation Andromeda.
A large, somewhat yellowish-red spiral galaxy surrounded by large dust clouds is not completely flat, but is slightly curved. Centered above it is a small, blue-white galaxy surrounded by a type of star.
The scene looks almost three-dimensional
In addition, stars and dust masses flow from the smaller galaxy to the larger galaxy. The view is reminiscent of summer rain clouds.
The Hubble picture gives a nearly three-dimensional impression of this cosmic connection. Arp 282 shows at first glance that galaxies attract and deform each other.
Such encounters happen in super slow motion. It takes millions of years for two galaxies to pass each other. Sometimes they literally dance around each other and then merge.
In about four billion years our galaxy will also become a “strange galaxy”. Then the Andromeda galaxy will pass – and the Milky Way and Andromeda will bend significantly.
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