Close encounter
This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the unusual galaxy IRAS 06076-2139, found in the constellation Lepus (The Hare). Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instruments observed the galaxy from a distance of 500 million light-years. This particular object stands out from the crowd by actually being composed of two separate galaxies rushing past each other at about 2 million kilometres per hour. This speed is most likely too fast for them to merge and form a single galaxy. However, because of their small separation of only about 20 000 light-years, the galaxies will distort one another through the force of gravity while passing each other, changing their structures on a grand scale.
ESA/Hubble & NASA
About the Image
| Id: | potw1719a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 8 May 2017, 06:00 |
| Size: | 3920 x 3211 px |
About the Object
| Name: | IRAS 06076-2139 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting |
| Distance: | 500 million light years |
| Constellation: | Lepus |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 6 9 45.72 |
| Position (Dec): | -21° 40' 25.37" |
| Field of view: | 3.27 x 2.67 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 50.0° left of vertical |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | 435 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Optical I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Optical B | 435 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Infrared H | 1.545 μm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
| Optical I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |