Rate This Image
Download Image
More Information
More Images
Animation & Video
More Releases
Related Images
Stephan's Quintet:
A Galaxy Collision in Action
A Galaxy Collision in Action
- A compact group of galaxies, discovered about 130 years ago, about 280 million light years from Earth.
- One galaxy is passing through a core of four other galaxies.
- A shock wave generated from this motion heats the gas and produces X-rays detected by Chandra.
This beautiful image gives a new look at Stephan's Quintet, a compact group of galaxies discovered about 130 years ago and located about 280 million light years from Earth. The curved, light blue ridge running down the center of the image shows X-ray data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Four of the galaxies in the group are visible in the optical image (yellow, red, white and blue) from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. A labeled version (roll over the image above) identifies these galaxies (NGC 7317, NGC 7318a, NGC 7318b and NGC 7319) as well as a prominent foreground galaxy (NGC 7320) that is not a member of the group. The galaxy NGC 7318b is passing through the core of galaxies at almost 2 million miles per hour, and is thought to be causing the ridge of X-ray emission by generating a shock wave that heats the gas.
Additional heating by supernova explosions and stellar winds has also probably taken place in Stephan's Quintet. A larger halo of X-ray emission - not shown here - detected by ESA's XMM-Newton could be evidence of shock-heating by previous collisions between galaxies in this group. Some of the X-ray emission is likely also caused by binary systems containing massive stars that are losing material to neutron stars or black holes.
Stephan's Quintet provides a rare opportunity to observe a galaxy group in the process of evolving from an X-ray faint system dominated by spiral galaxies to a more developed system dominated by elliptical galaxies and bright X-ray emission. Being able to witness the dramatic effect of collisions in causing this evolution is important for increasing our understanding of the origins of the hot, X-ray bright halos of gas in groups of galaxies.
Stephan's Quintet shows an additional sign of complex interactions in the past, notably the long tails visible in the optical image. These features were probably caused by one or more passages through the galaxy group by NGC 7317.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Revised: July 29, 2009
Visitor Comments (19)
This is one breath taking image. Thanks for providing such info to us.
I'm making this my wallpaper.
Posted by Abhishek on Wednesday, 07.22.09 @ 14:17pm
Wow. Thanks for the pictures.
Posted by Divya Srinivasan on Sunday, 07.19.09 @ 15:42pm
ben,
Some of the blue objects are X-ray sources and are probably mostly binary
stars. The red objects are likely a mixture of background galaxies and foreground stars in our galaxy.
P.Edmonds for CXC
Posted by P. Edmonds on Friday, 07.17.09 @ 12:41pm
M.Kunze,
Yes, we are seeing 280 million years into the past in this image, so by now things will have changed. However, most of the stars in these galaxies will still exist and depending on their three-dimensional positions and speeds, the spiral galaxies might all still largely be intact, rather than evolving into elliptical galaxies.
P.Edmonds for CXC
Posted by P. Edmonds on Friday, 07.17.09 @ 12:39pm
Terri,
This collision won't affect our galaxy but it could give interesting
information about the impending collision between our galaxy (the Milky
Way) and Andromeda (M31) in several billion years.
P. Edmonds for CXC
Posted by P. Edmonds on Friday, 07.17.09 @ 12:36pm
It makes me wonder, how many living beings have died in those galaxies? Since 280 million years have passed the collision has been proceeding for a long time. I wonder what is actually going on right now in those galaxies?
Posted by Jason Richardson on Thursday, 07.16.09 @ 12:33pm
Very interesting. Does this collision in any way affect our galaxy or could we be looking at a collision of another galaxy with ours in the distant future? Brings up a lot of questions. I am still amazed at our ability to observe these occurrences, keep bringing this info to us.
Thanks
Posted by Terri on Tuesday, 07.14.09 @ 12:00pm
I congratulate NASA guys for proving human imagination.
Posted by durrani on Tuesday, 07.14.09 @ 11:34am
Is what we are seeing happened 280 million years ago? So they may not even exist anymore.
Posted by M Kunze on Tuesday, 07.14.09 @ 09:59am
Beautiful, amazing and breathtaking. Thank you
Posted by chris on Tuesday, 07.14.09 @ 03:59am
Absolutely breathtaking. Thanks
Posted by Robert Habas on Tuesday, 07.14.09 @ 03:01am
I presume the blue and pink circles represent stars. If so, what type? Are there types of stars here. Great photograph.
Posted by ben on Monday, 07.13.09 @ 22:47pm
Great pictures. I'm glad to see this action especially in both specters X-ray visible. Thanks
Posted by Alex on Monday, 07.13.09 @ 16:49pm
I am so overwhelmed with the beauty this and all the pictures you have supplied us with and too a wee bit jealous, one day we all could go with you, maybe. So proud of you ALL the wonder be safe and shake the hand of GOD to say thank you. Take care gentlemen.
Posted by Jeanne Marie Johnson on Monday, 07.13.09 @ 16:26pm
My name is Alejandra Isabel Nava Nava and I'm from Mexico. I only say that this information is so fantastic. I can't speak English very good, my mother tells me that I won't visit the USA and I can't study in your country United States, but I believe in me.
I love all the mysteries of the universe. Thank you.
Posted by Alejandra Isabel Nava Nava on Monday, 07.13.09 @ 15:19pm
So fantastic.
Posted by chandra chhetri on Monday, 07.13.09 @ 00:32am
What a beautiful image.
Thank you for making it a composite with a visual image. Like most ordinary space buffs I recognize well-known cosmic objects in visible light but being shown an X-ray ridge and being told that this is Stephan's Quintet doesn't do that much for me. So thank you for showing me the interplay between visible light and X-rays. And thank you for showing me a labeled image of the galaxy too.
Posted by Ann Sidbrant on Sunday, 07.12.09 @ 01:40am
I am a complete ignorant on this matter, but I am trying to learn from your excellent articles. Congratulations.
Posted by Alfredo Hoffmann on Friday, 07.10.09 @ 14:42pm
This is another opportunity to follow learning about the complex process of galaxies collision and understand the evolution of this systems in the time.
Posted by Donis Gárciga on Friday, 07.10.09 @ 09:15am