APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

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APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by APOD Robot » Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:10 am

Image Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring

Explanation: How could a galaxy become shaped like a ring? The rim of the blue galaxy pictured on the right is an immense ring-like structure 150,000 light years in diameter composed of newly formed, extremely bright, massive stars. That galaxy, AM 0644-741, is known as a ring galaxy and was caused by an immense galaxy collision. When galaxies collide, they pass through each other -- their individual stars rarely come into contact. The ring-like shape is the result of the gravitational disruption caused by an entire small intruder galaxy passing through a large one. When this happens, interstellar gas and dust become condensed, causing a wave of star formation to move out from the impact point like a ripple across the surface of a pond. The likely intruder galaxy is on the left of this combined image from Hubble (visible) and Chandra (X-ray) space telescopes. X-ray light is shown in pink and depicts places where energetic black holes or neutron stars, likely formed shortly after the galaxy collision, reside.

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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by alter-ego » Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:14 am

I like the two-image overlap found here
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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by bystander » Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:40 am

Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
alive to the gentle breeze of communication, and please stop being such a jerk.
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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by bystander » Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:42 am

alter-ego wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:14 am I like the two-image overlap found here
You can see all three images here
Know the quiet place within your heart and touch the rainbow of possibility; be
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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by alter-ego » Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:06 am

bystander wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:42 am
alter-ego wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:14 am I like the two-image overlap found here
You can see all three images here
Thanks, bystander. I thought there was another comaprison link somewhere.
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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by Ann » Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:25 am

Albert Einstein. Photo: I don't know.
Stick out your tongue and say ahh! Just as I thought, you've got a bad case of black hole mouth ulcers!

Seriously though, the black holes in galaxy AM 0644-741 are a by-product of the extreme star formation in the vaguely tongue-shaped ring that has been caused by another galaxy barreling right through the disk of the galaxy now sticking out its tongue.

Of course, it is possible that a few pre-existing black holes were also flown out into the tidal tongue caused by the collision.

I have to wonder what inhabitants of some remote and calm part of AM 0644-741 thought about the spectacle, or if they noticed it at all.

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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by Boomer12k » Mon Sep 17, 2018 8:52 am

Interesting... I would have thought there would have been more visible star streams as the impact galaxy goes through the other...but it seems to have kept its shape.

There are some star streams...I just expected them to be more visible, I guess.

Hit at a 90 or so degree angle to the Ring Galaxy? like a Target?

Interesting...
THIS appears to be a collision in progress...Mayall's object...
http://annesastronomynews.com/photo-gal ... a-major-2/

Very interesting galaxies and process... a nice square shot...disruption indeed...looks like broken glass.

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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by Holger Nielsen » Mon Sep 17, 2018 2:23 pm

The caption says "The likely intruder galaxy is on the left". There are at least two magenta blobs to the left of the ring galaxy, so which one is it?
And how could it be identified, has it nearly the same redshift as the galaxy? Is this suggested by model calculations of the collision?

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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by neufer » Mon Sep 17, 2018 3:17 pm

Holger Nielsen wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 2:23 pm
The caption says "The likely intruder galaxy is on the left". There are at least two magenta blobs to the left of the ring galaxy, so which one is it?
And how could it be identified, has it nearly the same redshift as the galaxy? Is this suggested by model calculations of the collision?
There are at least two magenta blobs to the left of the ring galaxy but only one prominent galaxy in the Hubble visible.
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Re: APOD: Cosmic Collision Forges Galactic Ring (2018 Sep 17)

Post by MarkBour » Tue Sep 18, 2018 3:39 am

Ann wrote: Mon Sep 17, 2018 5:25 am Stick out your tongue and say ahh! . . .
Ann
Just a few days early, but you nailed it !
Mark Goldfain

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