Galaxy NGC 6240 in Ophiuchus | Victor Blanco Telescope
NGC 6240 lies 400 million light-years away in the constellation of Ophiuchus (The Serpent Holder). This galaxy has an elongated shape with branching wisps, loops, and tails. This mess of gas, dust, and stars bears more than a passing resemblance to a butterfly and, though perhaps less conventionally beautiful, a lobster.
This bizarrely-shaped galaxy did not begin its life looking like this. Its distorted appearance is a result of a galactic merger that occurred when two galaxies drifted too close to one another. This merger sparked bursts of new star formation and triggered many hot young stars to explode as supernovae. A new supernova was discovered in this galaxy in 2013, named SN 2013dc.
At the center of NGC 6240 an even more interesting phenomenon is taking place. When the two galaxies came together, their central black holes did so, too. There are two supermassive black holes within this jumble, spiraling closer and closer to one another. They are currently only around 3,000 light-years apart, incredibly close given that the galaxy itself spans 300,000 light-years. This proximity secures their fate as they are now too close to escape each other and will soon form a single immense black hole.
Learn about the Víctor M. Blanco Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/science/programs/ctio/telescopes/victor-blanco-4m-telescope
Image Processing: M. Rodriguez (Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), J. Miller (Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)
Release Date: Oct. 18, 2023
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