Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 520
NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and B. Whitmore (STScI) · Download full size image
NGC 520 is the product of a collision between two disk galaxies that started 300 million years ago. It exemplifies the middle stages of the merging process: the disks of the parent galaxies have merged together, but the nuclei have not yet coalesced. It features an odd-looking tail of stars and a prominent dust lane that runs diagonally across the center of the image and obscures the galaxy. NGC 520 is one of the brightest galaxy pairs on the sky, and can be observed with a small telescope toward the constellation of Pisces, the Fish, having the appearance of a comet. It is about 100 million light-years away and about 100,000 light-years across. The galaxy pair is included in Arp's catalog of peculiar galaxies as Arp 157.
This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008. Posted on: 08 May, 2008
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Chandra X-ray Observatory
- Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory
- ROSAT X-ray Observatory
- SOHO Solar Observatory
- WMAP
- 2MASS Sky Survey
- ASTER Earth Imaging Instrument
- MISR Earth Imaging Instrument
- NRAO Gallery
- NAOJ Subaru Telescope
- Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
- European Southern Observatory (ESO)
- Wide-Field Imager (WFI)
- SOFI Infrared Multi-mode Instrument
- Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT)
- New Technology Telescope (NTT)
- Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX)
- SOHO Daily Images - 1996
- Spitzer Space Telescope (SIRTF)
- Infrared Legacy Gallery
- Herschel
- Advanced Technology Solar Telescope
- Planck
Latest Thoughts
-
Nov 23, 2009, 10:15 am
Deep Ocean Harbors Strange Creatures
-
Nov 23, 2009, 8:53 am
Babies in the Womb May Already Be Learning Language
-
Nov 23, 2009, 8:29 am
Blood Type Diet: Eat Right for Your Blood Type
-
Nov 23, 2009, 8:02 am
Undersea Gliders May Help Oceanographers
-
Nov 23, 2009, 8:00 am
New Method To Measure Snow Benefits Farmers
-
Nov 23, 2009, 7:41 am
Cholesterol Drugs Provide Other Benefits
- More Videos
RSS Feeds