Spiral & Dwarf Galaxies Merging in Eridanus | Victor Blanco Telescope

Spiral & Dwarf Galaxies Merging in Eridanus | Victor Blanco Telescope

The spiral galaxy NGC 1532, also known as Haley’s Coronet, can be seen here interacting with its smaller neighbor, the dwarf galaxy NGC 1531. This image—taken by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Dark Energy Camera mounted on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab—captures the mutual gravitational influences of a massive- and dwarf-galaxy merger.

The massive barred spiral galaxy NGC 1532 is located about 55 million light-years away in the direction of the southern constellation Eridanus (the river). Its sweeping spiral arms are seen edge-on from Earth, with the nearer arm dipping downward and the receding arm lurching upward as it tugs upon its smaller, dwarf companion galaxy NGC 1531. These gravitationally bound galaxies will eventually become one, as NGC 1532 completely consumes its smaller companion.

Despite its small stature, however, the dwarf galaxy has also been exerting a noticeable gravitational influence on its larger companion, distorting one of its spiral arms, which can be seen rising above the galactic plane. Additionally, plumes of gas and dust can be seen between the two galaxies, like a bridge of stellar matter held in place by the competing tidal forces. This interaction has also triggered bursts of star formation within both galaxies. 

Credit: CTIO/NOIRLab/DOE/NSF/AURA; R. Colombari, M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)

Release Date: July 25, 2023

#NASA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Stars #Galaxies #Galaxy #NGC1532 #HaleysCoronet #Spiral #DwarfGalaxy #NGC1531 #Eridanus #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe  #VictorBlancoTelescope #DOE #CTIO #CerroTololoObservatory #Chile #SouthAmerica #NOIRLab #AURA #NSF #UnitedStates #STEM #Education