Antennae Galaxies

colliding galaxies · NGC 4038/4039

62 million light-years from Earth

Two spirals in the middle of a collision. Tides fling stars into long tails and colliding gas ignites bursts of star formation. Replayed here: 600 million years in a minute.

• nuclei 196,000 light-years apart
• restricted N-body: 13,000 stars

kind

galaxy · explosion or collision

catalogue

NGC 4038 · NGC 4039