Gemini North Telescope Captures Stunning Portrait of Merging Spiral Galaxies
The Gemini North telescope has captured a high-resolution image of the interacting spiral galaxies NGC 7253. Located 200 million light-years away, these galaxies are currently merging due to mutual gravitational forces.
Why it matters
This imagery provides astronomers with critical data on galactic evolution and the long-term effects of gravitational interaction between celestial bodies.
A new image from the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea in Hawai’i offers the sharpest look yet at a striking pair of interacting spiral galaxies, cataloged as NGC 7253.
This image of NGC 7253 was captured by the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea, one half of the International Gemini Observatory. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. Miller & M. Rodriguez, International Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / D. de Martin & M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.
NGC 7253 is located more than 200 million light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus.
The system was discovered by the German-British astronomer Albert Marth on 9 September 1863.
It consists of two relatively small-looking spiral galaxies separated by roughly four million light-years.
The northern member is generally called NGC 7253A, while the southern member is NGC 7253B.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in