Galaxy Zoo Talk

merger of 3 galaxies?

  • nkrastev by nkrastev

    Ok, is my imagination going commando or is this potentially a merger of 3 galaxies? I'm pretty sure about the 2 smaller ones on the left but how about the larger one?

    Posted

  • Capella05 by Capella05 moderator

    Looking at the optical image I do not think it is a merger - rather a chance alignment.

    As we don't have spectra on all 3 objects we will have to take an educated guess.

    Based on the assumption that the further an object is, the greater the red shift, let us look at the optical colours of the galaxies involved. The center galaxy is blue in the optical suggesting it is closer to us. The two galaxies in the lower left are orange suggesting they are further away.

    Hope this helps 😃

    Posted

  • nkrastev by nkrastev

    Thanks 😃 I am partly colour-blind so shades of colour escape me. Thanks for the clarification 😃

    Posted