The Antennae Galaxies/NGC 4038-4039

[snowyskiesau]

I just saw this amazing image at the Hubble web site and thought it may be of interest to others here.

http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2006/46/image/a

Apparently our own galaxy will collide with Andromeda in about 6 billion years so this is what we can expect. Of course our view will be much closer. :)

[Ric]

Hi Geoff, that really is an amazing image. It is interesting to think that one day our galaxy will do the same with Andromeda, I always speculate about how it will look in the sky as it draws closer. I expect that at first it would be this amazing giant galaxy in the sky and then as we merge there would probaly be this amazing mass of stars. I guess we will never know.

cheers

[spacezebra]

Hi Geoff

Thanks for sharing - I saw an excellent doco on the Andromeda galaxy, what would happen, what it would look like if it collided with our Milky way. Very interesting.

Excellent images though. One can only wait and see what they will do with Hubble, Ill have the mirror;) .

Cheers Petra

[jase]

Very impressive image.

Centaurus A (NGC 5128) is the closest active galaxy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_galaxy) to earth. This galaxy is actually both a elliptical and spiral, the result of a galactic collision. Professional astromoners have confirmed that the galaxy collision is still ongoing as the spiral galaxy is slowly consumed.

[h0ughy]

I hope i will be still here then.......................ok one can dream. Wonderful shot for a half beaten up space scope!

[seeker372011]

I pick up MX -the free newspaper they hand out in railway stations in sydney on my way home from work and noticed that they had this image of the ring tail or antennae galaxy as NGC 4038 and 4039 are also known as..amazing that a Hubble press realease caught the attention of the editors in a Murdoch rag

its quite a popular target BTW for Ice in Space members--I think Scott Adler had a pretty good go at it and so did one or two others

as a Caldwell object in theory its in range of a 4 inch scope

still hubble shows these objects to us in astonishing detail..what will we do when it finally fails