Merger
-
by
suelaine
If these two elliptical galaxies are merging, what is happening in the very bright centre? Why is it so bright and active?
Posted
-
by
fatha731
I don't see any stars in this image. Those are actually foregroundstars from our galaxy. The weird colours and shapes you see are all optical artifacts due to imaging issues. And between stars there can be no merging. 😃
Posted
-
by
KWillett
scientist, admin, translator
@suelaine - the center, bluer object is definitely a galaxy. The red object at 5 o'clock is a foreground star located in our own galaxy, so it's not actually merging with the distant galaxy; they just look like they're close to one another. Actual merging galaxies will usually show some signs of disturbance (like a tail extending between galaxies), so that's a sign that this isn't really a merger.
The discoloration along the center of the galaxy does look like an artifact for me - the quality of these observations isn't among SDSS's best. On the other hand, the elongation could indicate a disk or bar in the center.
Posted
-
by
KWillett
scientist, admin, translator
@fatha731 - although it's very unlikely that you'll see it in Galaxy Zoo images, stars can absolutely merge! Merging stars are a leading theory for one cause of energetic events called "gamma-ray bursts". Stars merging can also happen in very dense environments, like globular clusters - in the Milky Way, it might happen once every 10,000 years.
Posted
-
by
zutopian
#poorqualityimage
On the SDSS image it looks like a #star .:http://skyserver.sdss3.org/dr8/en/tools/explore/obj.asp?id=1237646707428295518
Posted