Hubble image archive
Arp 143
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the glittery, distorted, sta...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2022
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2022-010-01f88fmdep58n1thsm8ay644cq
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the glittery, distorted, star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445 at right, along with its less flashy companion, NGC 2444 at left.
Astronomers suggest that the galaxies passed through each other, igniting the uniquely shaped star-formation firestorm in NGC 2445, where thousands of stars are bursting to life on the right-hand side of the image. This galaxy is awash in starbirth because it is rich in gas, the fuel that makes stars. However, it hasn't yet escaped the gravitational clutches of its partner NGC 2444, shown on the left side of the image. The pair is waging a cosmic tug-of-war, which NGC 2444 appears to be winning. The galaxy has pulled gas from NGC 2445, forming the oddball triangle of newly minted stars.
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, STScI, Julianne Dalcanton (Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Inst. / UWashington)
Image Processing
Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Arp 143 |
| Object Description | Interacting Galaxies |
| R.A. Position | 07:46:57 |
| Dec. Position | +39:00:51 |
| Constellation | Lynx |
| Distance | About 191 million light-years |
| Dimensions | Image is 3.3 arcmin across (about 180,000 light-years). |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposals: (J. Dalcanton) and (C. Britt). |
| Instrument | ACS/WFC and WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | 19 Apr and 20 Nov 2020 |
| Filters | ACS/WFC F475W, F606W, F814W; WFC3/UVIS F665N |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS/WFC and WFC3/UVIS instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F475WGreen: F606WRed: F814WRed: F665N |
Downloads
Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov