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VV 283


Date: 24 April 2008
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Depicts: VV 283, MCG+01-33-036
Copyright: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

VV 283 looks like a single peculiar galaxy, but is in fact a pair of merging galaxies. A tidal tail swirls out from a messy central region and splits into two branches. The upward twisting branch is brightened by luminous blue star knots. Like many merging systems, VV 283 is a very luminous infrared system, radiating nearly 1012 times more energy than our Sun. VV 283 is located in the constellation of Virgo, the Maiden, some 500 million light-years away.

This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24 April 2008.

Last Update: 1 September 2019
23-Jan-2026 15:07 UT

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