{"id":14690,"date":"2017-07-28T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-07-28T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14690"},"modified":"2017-07-28T02:44:06","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T06:44:06","slug":"hubble-two-galaxies-one-big-one-not-so-big-change-shape-as-they-near-merger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14690","title":{"rendered":"Hubble: Two galaxies – one big, one not so big – change shape as they near merger"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Hubble Telescope<\/a> observes two galaxies<\/p>\n

Galactic David and Goliath<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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This composite image, created out of two different pointings from Hubble, shows the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512 (left) and the dwarf galaxy NGC 1510 (right). Both galaxies are about 30 million light-years away from Earth and currently in the process of merging. At the end of this process NGC 1512 will have cannibalised its smaller companion. [Larger images<\/a>]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>The gravitational dance between two galaxies in our local neighbourhood has led to intriguing visual features in both as witnessed in this new NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image. The tiny NGC 1510 and its colossal neighbour NGC 1512 are at the beginning of a lengthy merger, a crucial process in galaxy evolution. Despite its diminutive size, NGC 1510 has had a significant effect on NGC 1512\u2019s structure and amount of star formation.<\/p>\n

Galaxies come in a range of shapes and sizes, and astronomers use this fact to classify them based on their appearance. NGC 1512, the large galaxy to the left in this image, is classified as a\u00a0barred spiral<\/a>, named after the bar composed of stars, gas and dust slicing through its centre. The tiny NGC 1510 to the right, on the other hand, is a dwarf galaxy. Despite their very different sizes, each galaxy affects the other through gravity, causing slow changes in their appearances.<\/p>\n