Antennae Galaxies

Colliding galaxies, NGC 4038 and NGC 4039

From the Sun

72 million light-years

Picture: Credit: NASA , ESA , and the Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA )- ESA / Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgement: B. Whitmore ( Space Telescope Science Institute ) and James Long (ESA/Hubble).

What it is

Two spiral galaxies in the middle of a collision. The bright blue knots are clusters of new stars set off by the crash; the long tails of stars that name them are beyond this picture.

The picture hangs at that distance facing Earth, as large as it is on the sky; how deep the object is cannot be seen, so it is flat.

The picture

Taken by: Hubble Space Telescope
Picture spans: about 69,000 ly
From the Sun: 72 million light-years
RA / Dec: 180.47° / -18.88°
Credit: Credit: NASA , ESA , and the Hubble Heritage Team ( STScI / AURA )- ESA / Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgement: B. Whitmore ( Space Telescope Science Institute ) and James Long (ESA/Hubble).

What it is

The picture

Far beyond