Astronomer types question...

Mat · 1 Feb 2007 at 13:47

I've got this image as my background at the moment (purely because I think its one of the most awesome pictures I have ever seen):

http://hubblesite.org/gallery/wallpaper/pr2003028a/1280_wallpaper

but my question is, what is going on in the bottom left hand corner just above the G in galaxy? It looks like two galaxies up to something but I cant find any info on it anywhere...

Any budding Patrick MO.ores out there got any ideas?

(There are other equally amazing shots on there too)

badgermonkey · 1 Feb 2007 at 13:48

i think it's one of those new fangled galaxies that are 2 galaxies

SiriusB · 1 Feb 2007 at 13:49

Possibilities:

1: They aren't doing anything and it is just perspective that makes them look like they are close to each other

2: They may be colliding with each other [it happens]

3: They may be orbiting each other [not sure if that happens

]

4: None of the above

SiriusB

badgermonkey · 1 Feb 2007 at 13:50

SiriusB said:
Possibilities:

1: They aren't doing anything and it is just perspective that makes them look like they are close to each other

2: They may be colliding with each other [it happens]

3: They may be orbiting each other [not sure if that happens ]

4: None of the above

SiriusB

I think 3 might potentially be happening. But it helps to know what part of the sky it is

riddlermarc · 1 Feb 2007 at 14:00

badgermonkey said:
I think 3 might potentially be happening. But it helps to know what part of the sky it is

M101

http://www.knoxvilleobservers.org/dsonline/spring/m101.html

badgermonkey · 1 Feb 2007 at 14:06

riddlermarc said:
M101

http://www.knoxvilleobservers.org/dsonline/spring/m101.html

VaderDSL · 1 Feb 2007 at 14:11

As fro colliding galaxies, isn't our Milky Way Galaxy curently on course (well in terms of billions of years time) to collide with Andromeda?

riddlermarc · 1 Feb 2007 at 14:21

VaderDSL said:
As fro colliding galaxies, isn't our Milky Way Galaxy curently on course (well in terms of billions of years time) to collide with Andromeda?

Very possibly:

Most scientists agree that the Milky Way will cross paths with the Andromeda galaxy in about three billion years. Both galaxies are now spiral in shape, though Andromeda is about twice as large as the Milky Way.

The galaxies are separated by about 2.2 million light years (one light-year is about 6 trillion miles, or 10 trillion kilometers). That gap is closing at about 310,000 miles per hour (500,000 kph).

While a collision appears inevitable, astronomers admit that the sideways motion of Andromeda -- the galaxy’s speed perpendicular to its forward path toward the Milky Way -- could affect the encounter’s timing, but it has yet to be measured precisely. Dubinksi used an estimate of 12.4 miles per second (20 km per second) for his collision model.

"Even if the galaxies have a wider passage on the first pass, if they are on a bound orbit they are destined to merge eventually," Dubinski said. "If not on the first flyby, then within the second or third pass over the next 10 billion years, he added.

The clincher is mavity. Even if there’s enough space between the Milky Way and Andromeda to simply brush past each other at spiral arm’s length, their mutual mavity will ultimately win out, drawing the two galaxies together on successive flybys.

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/astronomy/galaxy_collides_020507-1.html