Disorder in Stephan's Quintet
Explanation:
What are four closely grouped galaxies doing in
this image?
The grouping composes a majority of the large galaxies in
Stephan's Quintet, with the
fifth prominent galaxy located off the
above image to the
lower right.
Three of these four galaxies show nearly the same
redshift, indicating that they reside at the same
distance from us.
These three galaxies are in the midst a
titanic collision,
each ripping the others apart with
gravitational tidal forces.
The large bluish
spiral
below and left of center is a foreground galaxy
much closer than the others and hence not involved in the
cosmic battle.
Most of
Stephan's Quintet lies about 300 million
light-years away towards the
constellation
of
Pegasus.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
