Hubble image archive
Compass Image of J0742+2704
Caption Hubble captured intriguing hints of interaction, if not full merging, between galaxies including quasar J0742+2704. There is evidence of a distorted tidal tail, or a streamer of gas, that has been pulled out by the gravity of a nearby galaxy. The presence of a ring galaxy...
- Date
- Jan 13, 2025
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2025-004-01jfdsxdm1pf0wcak0rggq9s16
Caption
Hubble captured intriguing hints of interaction, if not full merging, between galaxies including quasar J0742+2704. There is evidence of a distorted tidal tail, or a streamer of gas, that has been pulled out by the gravity of a nearby galaxy. The presence of a ring galaxy also suggests interaction: The distinctive shape of ring galaxies are thought to form when one galaxy passes through another, redistributing its contents into a central core circled by stars and gas.
Astronomers will be doing further analysis of Hubble's detailed spectroscopic data, plus follow-up with other telescopes that can see different types of light, to confirm the distances of the galaxies and how they may be affecting one another.
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
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