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Back Colliding Galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC 4039

Colliding Galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC 4039


Depicts: NGC 4038, IRAS 11593-1835, NGC 4039
Copyright: Brad Whitmore (STScI), and NASA

The respective cores of the twin galaxies are the orange blobs, left and right of image center, crisscrossed by filaments of dark dust. A wide band of chaotic dust, called the overlap region, stretches between the cores of the two galaxies. The sweeping spiral- like patterns, traced by bright blue star clusters, shows the result of a firestorm of star birth activity which was triggered by the collision.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
7-Feb-2026 01:05 UT

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