Galaxy Zoo Talk

What causes this merger's unique appearance?

  • A002615 by A002615

    What kinds of galaxies are merging in this image? Are the bright spots just artifacts, or do they indicate star forming regions (or something else)? Are the spots to the lower right debris or just foreground/background objects? Thanks for the help.

    Posted

  • ElisabethB by ElisabethB moderator

    Hi A002615 and welcome to the Zoo

    Both galaxies are seriously disturbed but I think it is two spirals merging.The bright blue/green spots are aareas with very active star formation triggered by the interaction between the two galaxies. The smaller bright spots lower right are conected to this system and are also star forming areas.

    Happy hunting ! 😄

    Posted

  • Budgieye by Budgieye moderator

    new ID https://talk.galaxyzoo.org/#/subjects/AGZ000culn also Hubble image

    https://cdn.spacetelescope.org/archives/images/thumb700x/heic0810as.jpg Hubble

    This system consists of a pair of galaxies, dubbed IC 694 and NGC
    3690, which made a close pass some 700 million years ago. As a result
    of this interaction, the system underwent a fierce burst of star
    formation. In the last fifteen years or so six supernovae have popped
    off in the outer reaches of the galaxy, making this system a
    distinguished supernova factory. Arp 299 belongs to the family of
    ultraluminous infrared galaxies and is located in the constellation of
    Ursa Major, the Great Bear, approximately 150 million light-years
    away. It is the 299th galaxy in Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies.
    Despite its enormous amount of absorbing dust, enough violet and
    near-ultraviolet light leaks out for it to be number 171 in B.E.
    Markarian's catalogue of galaxies with excess ultraviolet emission.

    https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic0810as/

    Posted

  • bluemagi by bluemagi

    http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2017/arp299/

    Posted