探索天线
(原标题: Exploring the Antennae)
2022-03-31
浏览次数: 22
大约6000万光年外，在南部的鸦座，两个大星系正在碰撞。这两个星系的编号分别为NGC 4038和NGC 4039，在持续数亿年的沉重灾难过程中，它们的恒星很少相撞。但星系中由分子气体和尘埃组成的大型云团经常会这样做，在宇宙残骸的中心附近引发恒星形成的激烈事件。这张跨度超过50万光年的令人惊叹的照片还揭示了新的星团和物质被引力潮汐力从事故现场抛到很远的地方。这张非常清晰的地面图像，是在2012年至2021年期间拍摄的88小时曝光的积累，它跟随视野中微弱的潮汐尾和遥远的背景星系。延伸的弧形结构的整体视觉外观给了这对星系，也被称为arp244，它的通俗名字-天线。
查看原文解释
Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly constellation Corvus, two large galaxies are colliding. Stars in the two galaxies, cataloged as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, very rarely collide in the course of the ponderous cataclysm that lasts for hundreds of millions of years. But the galaxies' large clouds of molecular gas and dust often do, triggering furious episodes of star formation near the center of the cosmic wreckage. Spanning over 500 thousand light-years, this stunning view also reveals new star clusters and matter flung far from the scene of the accident by gravitational tidal forces. The remarkably sharp ground-based image, an accumulation of 88 hours of exposure captured during 2012-2021, follows the faint tidal tails and distant background galaxies in the field of view. The suggestive overall visual appearance of the extended arcing structures gives the galaxy pair, also known as Arp 244, its popular name - The Antennae.
© Dietmar Hager