Photo of the day: galactic drainpipe captured by the Hubble telescope
The NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a pair of interacting galaxies. An amazing photo was published on the website of the space observatory under the heading “Image of the week”.
The object in the image on the left is designated NGC 2799, on the right – NGC 2798. These galaxies are located in the constellation Lynx. They are close enough to each other, which is why mutual gravity leads to a change in their structure and shape.
In the picture, the interacting pair resembles a drainpipe turned on its side: the substance of the galaxy NGC 2799 flows into the center of the galaxy NGC 2798, which in this view can be considered as an analog of a puddle.
It should be noted that in the process of merging galaxies, collisions of stars or stellar systems do not occur due to the huge distances between them. However, the gravitational interaction of galaxies and the friction between gas and dust have a huge impact on merging objects.
We add that “Hubble”, which captured the galactic drainpipe, has been in orbit for over 30 years. The space observatory was launched on April 24, 1990, aboard the STS-31 Discovery shuttle.
