Close-up: The "Atoms-for-Peace" Galaxy | NGC 7252 in Aquarius | ESO

Close-up: The "Atoms-for-Peace" Galaxy | NGC 7252 in Aquarius | ESO

This image shows the results of a vast collision between two galaxies. This strange object is known as NGC 7252, or Arp 226, and has the odd nickname "Atoms-for-Peace". 

Distance from Earth: 220 million light years

In December 1953, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave a speech advocating the use of nuclear power for peaceful purposes. This “Atoms for Peace” speech was significant for the scientific community, as it brought nuclear research into the public domain. NGC 7252 has a superficial resemblance to an atomic nucleus surrounded by the loops of electronic orbits. Thus, it was dubbed the Atoms for Peace galaxy in honor of this. These loops are well visible in this wide field image.

This nickname is quite ironic, as the galaxy’s past was anything but peaceful. Its peculiar appearance is the result of a collision between two galaxies that took place about a billion years ago. This ripped both galaxies apart. The loop-like outer structures, likely made up of dust and stars flung outwards by the crash, but recalling orbiting electrons in an atom, are partly responsible for the galaxy’s nickname.

The picture was taken by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is a combination of exposures taken through blue and red filters, for a total exposure time of more than four hours. The field of view is about 18 arcminutes across.

Learn about MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope: https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 10, 2010

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