Fact Sheet
Galactic Slam Dance
The cores of two merging galaxies produce abundant X-rays, as viewed by
the orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory. Vast clouds of gas in the galaxies,
known collectively as Arp 220, are collapsing to give birth to thousands of
new stars. This activity heats the remaining gas to millions of degrees, so
it produces X-rays. The cores of the galaxies are the bright blobs at the
center of the image. Giant blobs of gas on either side of the cores may have
been thrown out when the galaxies began merging about 10 million years ago.
[NASA/SAO/CXC/J.McDOWELL]
|