Some 60 million light-years away in the
southerly constellation Corvus, two large galaxies collided. But
the stars in the two galaxies cataloged as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039
don't collide in the course of the ponderous, billion year or so
long event. Instead, their large clouds of molecular gas and
dust do, triggering furious episodes of star formation near the
center of the cosmic wreckage. Spanning about 500 thousand
light-years, this stunning view also reveals new star clusters
and matter flung far from the scene of the accident by
gravitational tidal forces. Of course, the visual appearance of
the far-flung arcing structures gives the galaxy pair its
popular name - The Antennae.
