Composite view of the Antennae Galaxies

Ssc2004-14a1.tif
spitzer_ssc2004-14a1 September 7, 2004

Creator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/1268-ssc2004-14a1-Composite-view-of-the-Antennae-Galaxies

This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals hidden populations of newborn stars at the heart of the colliding "Antennae" galaxies. These two galaxies, known individually as NGC 4038 and 4039, are located around 68 million light-years away and have been merging together for about the last 800 million years. The latest Spitzer observations provide a snapshot of the tremendous burst of star formation triggered in the process of this collision, particularly at the site where the two galaxies overlap.

The image is a false-color composite of infrared data from Spitzer and visible-light data from Kitt Peak National Observatory, Tucson, Ariz. Visible light from stars in the galaxies (blue and green) is shown together with infrared light from warm dust clouds heated by newborn stars (red). Wavelengths of .44 microns are represented in blue, .70 microns in green and 8.0 microns in red.

The two nuclei, or centers, of the merging galaxies show up as yellow-white areas, one above the other. The brightest clouds of forming stars lie in the overlap region between and left of the nuclei.

Throughout the sky, astronomers have identified many of these so-called "interacting" galaxies, whose spiral discs have been stretched and distorted by their mutual gravity as they pass close to one another. The distances involved are so large that the interactions evolve on timescales comparable to geologic changes on Earth. Observations of such galaxies, combined with computer models of these collisions, show that the galaxies often become forever bound to one another, eventually merging into a single, spheroidal-shaped galaxy.

Image Use Policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy

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Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Antennae Galaxies NGC 4038 NGC 4039 Arp 244
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy » Type » Interacting

Distance

Universescale2
68,000,000 light years

Position Details

Ssc2004-14a1.tif
Position (ICRS)
RA = 12h 1m 53.2s
DEC = -18° 52’ 37.1”
Orientation
North is 4.5° CW
Field of View
4.3 x 4.3 arcminutes
Constellation
Corvus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Arrow_left_blue KPNO Optical (B-band) 440.0 nm
Arrow_left_green KPNO Optical (R-band) 700.0 nm
Arrow_left_red Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 8.0 µm
Spectrum_base
Arrow_top_blue
Arrow_top_green
Arrow_top_red