Wikimedia Commons

File:NGC6052 - HST - Potw1909a.jpg

Original file ‎(2,449 × 1,940 pixels, file size: 1.74 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)

Captions

Captions

Add a one-line explanation of what this file represents

Summary edit

Description

Colliding galaxies


Located in the constellation of Hercules, about 230 million light-years away, NGC 6052 is a pair of colliding galaxies. They were first discovered in 1784 by William Herschel and were originally classified as a single irregular galaxy because of their odd shape. However, we now know that NGC 6052 actually consists of two galaxies that are in the process of colliding. This particular image of NGC 6052 was taken using the Wide Field Camera 3 on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

A long time ago gravity drew the two galaxies together into the chaotic state we now observe. Stars from within both of the original galaxies now follow new trajectories caused by the new gravitational effects. However, actual collisions between stars themselves are very rare as stars are very small relative to the distances between them (most of a galaxy is empty space). Eventually things will settle down and one day the two galaxies will have fully merged to form a single, stable galaxy.

Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, will undergo a similar collision in the future with our nearest galactic neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy. Although this is not expected to happen for around 4 billion years so there is nothing to worry about just yet.

This object was previously observed by Hubble with its old WFPC2 camera. That image was released in 2015.

Credit:

ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Adamo et al. 

Coordinates
Position (RA): 	16 5 12.53
Position (Dec):	20° 32' 30.43"
Field of view: 	1.62 x 1.28 arcminutes
Orientation:   	North is 45.0° left of vertical

Colours & filters Band	Wavelength	Telescope
Optical U	336 nm	Hubble Space Telescope WFC3
Optical B	438 nm	Hubble Space Telescope WFC3
Optical V	555 nm	Hubble Space Telescope WFC3
Optical H-alpha	665 nm	Hubble Space Telescope WFC3
Optical I	814 nm	Hubble Space Telescope WFC3
.
Date 4 March 2019, 06:00 (Release)
Source https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1909a/ https://cdn.spacetelescope.org/archives/images/large/potw1909a.jpg
Author Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Adamo et al.
Permission
(Reusing this file)
w:en:Creative Commons
attribution
attribution
 ESA/Hubble images, videos and web texts are released by the ESA under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license and may on a non-exclusive basis be reproduced without fee provided they are clearly and visibly credited. Detailed conditions are below; see the ESA copyright statement for full information. For images created by NASA or on the hubblesite.org website, or for ESA/Hubble images on the esahubble.org site before 2009, use the {{PD-Hubble}} tag.
Conditions:
  • The full image or footage credit must be presented in a clear and readable manner to all users, with the wording unaltered (for example: "ESA/Hubble"). Web texts should be credited to ESA/Hubble (except when used by media). The credit should not be hidden or disassociated from the image footage. Links should be active if the credit is online. See the usage rights Q&A section on the ESA copyright page for guidance.
  • ESA/Hubble materials may not be used to state or imply the endorsement by ESA/Hubble or any ESA/Hubble employee of a commercial product or service.
  • ESA/Hubble requests a copy of the product sent to them to be indexed in their archive.
  • If an image shows an identifiable person, using that image for commercial purposes may infringe that person's right of privacy, and separate permission should be obtained from the individual.
  • If images or visuals are changed significantly from the original work (apart from resizing, cropping), we suggest that the changes are mentioned after the credit line. For example "Original image by ESA/Hubble (M. Kornmesser), warping and recolouring by NN".

Notes:

  • Note that this general permission does not extend to the use of ESA/Hubble's logo, which shall remain protected and may not be used or reproduced without prior and individual written consent of ESA/Hubble.
  • Also note that music, scientific papers and code on the esahubble.org site are not released under this license and can not be used for non-ESA/Hubble products.
  • By reproducing ESA/Hubble material, in part or in full, the user acknowledges the terms on which such use is permitted.
w:en:Creative Commons
attribution
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
Attribution: ESA/Hubble
You are free:
  • to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
  • to remix – to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
  • attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.

File history

Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.

Date/TimeThumbnailDimensionsUserComment
current06:36, 4 March 2019Thumbnail for version as of 06:36, 4 March 20192,449 × 1,940 (1.74 MB)Fabian RRRR (talk | contribs)== {{int:filedesc}} == {{Information |Description='''Colliding galaxies Located in the constellation of Hercules, about 230 million light-years away, NGC 6052 is a pair of colliding galaxies. They were first discovered in 1784 by William Herschel and were originally classified as a single irregular galaxy because of their odd shape. However, we now know that NGC 6052 actually consists of two galaxies that are in the process of colliding. This particular image of NGC 6052 was taken using the...

You cannot overwrite this file.

File usage on other wikis

The following other wikis use this file:

Metadata

This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.

Retrieved from "https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:NGC6052_-_HST_-_Potw1909a.jpg&oldid=857707049"