Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2021 June 21 [2]The picture shows the Arp 188, the unusual Tadpole Galaxy with a long star-filled tail as captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. The Tadpole Galaxy from Hubble Image Credit: [3]Hubble Legacy Archive, [4]ESA, [5]NASA; Processing: [6]Amal Biju Explanation: Why does this galaxy have such a long tail? In [7]this stunning vista, based on image data from the [8]Hubble Legacy Archive, distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for disrupted spiral [9]galaxy Arp 188, the Tadpole Galaxy. The [10]cosmic tadpole is a mere 420 million light-years distant toward the northern constellation of the Dragon ([11]Draco). Its [12]eye-catching tail is about 280 thousand [13]light-years long and features massive, bright blue star clusters. One [14]story goes that a more compact [15]intruder galaxy crossed in front of Arp 188 - from right to left in this view - and was [16]slung around behind the Tadpole by their gravitational attraction. During the [17]close encounter, tidal forces drew out the [18]spiral galaxy's stars, gas, and dust forming the spectacular tail. The [19]intruder galaxy itself, estimated to lie about 300 thousand light-years behind the Tadpole, can be seen through foreground spiral arms at the upper right. [20]Following its terrestrial [21]namesake, the [22]Tadpole Galaxy will likely lose [23]its tail as it grows older, the tail's star clusters forming smaller satellites of the large spiral galaxy. 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