PIA10389: AM 1316-241

Mission: Hubble Space Telescope Spacecraft: Hubble Space Telescope Instrument: Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 Product Size: 1660 samples x 1660 lines Produced By: Space Telescope Science Institute Full-Res TIFF: PIA10389.tif (8.28 MB) Full-Res JPEG: PIA10389.jpg (365.6 kB)

Original Caption Released with Image: Galaxies Gone Wild! Poster Version Unannotated Poster Version Hubble Interacting Galaxies Poster AM 1316-241 is made up of two interacting galaxies—a spiral galaxy (on the left of the frame) in front of an elliptical galaxy (on the right of the frame). The starlight from the background galaxy is partially obscured by the bands and filaments of dust associated with the foreground spiral galaxy. The Hubble image unravels the fine detail in the patchy clumps of dust confined to the spiral arms of the spiral galaxy. This dust reddens the light from the background just as the intervening dust in the Earth's atmosphere reddens sunsets here. AM1316-241 is located some 400 million light years away toward the constellation of Hydra, the Water Snake. This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008. It was taken by the telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2, which was designed and built by JPL. Image Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and W. Keel (University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa)