The Antennae, galaxies in collision (APOD 30 Jun 2006)

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Expand view Topic review: The Antennae, galaxies in collision (APOD 30 Jun 2006)

by Qev » Sat Jul 01, 2006 1:23 am

Stars do occasionally collide, but it's a very rare occurance. Stars really are comparitively tiny objects on the galactic scale, dwarfed by the spaces between them. In very star-dense regions, such as the hearts of globular clusters, however, stars have been theorized to collide, leading to the appearance of blue straggler stars.

by Wadsworth » Fri Jun 30, 2006 2:52 pm

Definitely possible.. I'd sure like to see that.

by Wadsworth » Fri Jun 30, 2006 2:50 pm

I was thinking the same thing when I saw the "Antennae"..

Very appropriate for Valentines day. :-D

by orin stepanek » Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:38 pm

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060630.html

Welcome Aidan! I see a beautiful dance that galaxies do when they combine.
Orin

Galaxies in collision (APOD 30 Jun 2006)

by Axel » Fri Jun 30, 2006 12:36 pm

Okay, galaxies are mostly empty space: "...stars in the two galaxies - NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 - don't collide in the course of the ponderous, billion year or so long event." But surely it is possible for some stars to collide. A billion years is a long time.

The Antennae, galaxies in collision (APOD 30 Jun 2006)

by aidan » Fri Jun 30, 2006 10:34 am

While celestial bodies are usually very well named, the immediate impression I had of the 'The Antennae' was that it a very distinct appearance of a pulsating heart with a couple of tails at the end and so would be more aptly named something like Cupid - might be particularly relevant on Valentines Day!

Anyone else see this in the image?

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