Is this a merging galaxy?
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by kalspaugh
Is this two galaxies merging or is the lower one a star?
Posted
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by Budgieye moderator
The big one is closer to us than it is to the one below. So not a merger, but a possible useful overlap.
z 0.072 0.00002 Well, the bigger galaxy has an exact redshift in SkyServer.
z 0.20 zErr 0.02 The little galaxy has an estimated redshift, and is much much further away. It is more orange in Skyserver
Using this handy calculator
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=redshift+z%3D3&a=FSelect_**LookbackTimeFromRedshift--
The distance away
950 million light-years for the closer one.
2420 million light-years for the more distant one.
So the big one is closer to us than it is to the one below.
Posted