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.

                               2023 January 23
      [2]Two spiral galaxies are shown right next to each other, with a
    smaller distorted galaxy on the far left. Please see the explanation
                       for more detailed information.

                  The Colliding Spiral Galaxies of Arp 274
      Image Credit: [3]NASA, [4]ESA, [5]Hubble; Processing & Copyright:
                           [6]Mehmet Hakan Özsaraç

   Explanation: Two galaxies are squaring off in Virgo and here are the
   latest pictures. When two [7]galaxies collide, the stars that compose
   them usually do not. This is because [8]galaxies are mostly empty space
   and, however bright, stars only take up only a small fraction of that
   space. But during the [9]collision, one galaxy can rip the other apart
   gravitationally, and dust and gas common to both [10]galaxies does
   [11]collide. If the two [12]galaxies merge, black holes that likely
   resided in each galaxy center [13]may eventually merge. Because the
   distances are so large, the [14]whole thing takes place in [15]slow
   motion -- over hundreds of millions of years. Besides the two [16]large
   spiral galaxies, a smaller third galaxy is visible on the far left of
   the [17]featured image of [18]Arp 274, also known as NGC 5679. [19]Arp
   274 spans about 200,000 [20]light years across and lies about 400
   million light years away toward the [21]constellation of Virgo.

   Night Sky Network webinar: [22]APOD editor to review best space images
                                   of 2022
                      Tomorrow's picture: a world away
     __________________________________________________________________

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     __________________________________________________________________

    Authors & editors: [34]Robert Nemiroff ([35]MTU) & [36]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([37]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [38]Specific rights apply.
              [39]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [40]ASD at [41]NASA / [42]GSFC,
                         [43]NASA Science Activation
                           & [44]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2301/Arp274_HubbleOzsarac_2386.jpg
   3. https://www.nasa.gov/
   4. https://www.esa.int/
   5. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/main/index.html
   6. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mhozsarac/
   7. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211004.html
   8. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy
   9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interacting_galaxy
  10. https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-are-galaxies
  11. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/colliding_galaxies.html
  12. http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/models/models.html
  13. https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005ApJ...622L..93M/abstract
  14. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lXy3B2K47Qg
  15. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ac/21/cd/ac21cdb998ded047b5d7e0e2280e0d48.jpg
  16. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130825.html
  17. https://www.flickr.com/photos/mhozsarac/52541931405/in/dateposted/
  18. https://hubblesite.org/contents/media/images/2009/14/2523-Image.html
  19. https://youtu.be/MX_nTpFFd4s
  20. https://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html
  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virgo_(constellation)
  22. https://nightsky.jpl.nasa.gov/news-display.cfm?News_ID=707
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230122.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  27. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  32. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230123
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230124.html
  34. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  35. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  37. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  39. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  40. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  41. https://www.nasa.gov/
  42. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  43. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  44. http://www.mtu.edu/