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Explanation: The first identified compact galaxy group, Stephan's Quintet is featured in this eye-catching image constructed with data drawn from the extensive Hubble Legacy Archive. About 300 million light-years away, only four galaxies of the group are actually locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters. The odd man out is easy to spot, though. The four interacting galaxies (NGC 7319, 7318A, 7318B, and 7317) have an overall yellowish cast and tend to have distorted loops and tails, grown under the influence of disruptive gravitational tides. But the larger bluish galaxy, NGC 7320, is much closer than the others. Just 40 million light-years distant, it isn't part of the interacting group. In fact, individual stars in the foreground galaxy can be seen in the sharp Hubble view, hinting that it is much closer than the others. Stephan's Quintet lies within the boundaries of the high flying constellation Pegasus.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: HST - interacting galaxies - group of galaxies
Publications with words: HST - interacting galaxies - group of galaxies
See also:
- APOD: 2026 August 10 Á Three Galaxy Pairs
- APOD: 2026 July 12 Á Galaxy NGC 474: Shells and Star Streams
- APOD: 2026 May 18 Á Unraveling NGC 3169
- APOD: 2026 March 27 Á Hickson 44 in Leo
- Galaxies in the River
- APOD: 2025 August 19 Á Giant Galaxies in Pavo
- APOD: 2025 June 1 Á UGC 1810: Wildly Interacting Galaxy from Hubble