2MASX J09133888-1019196
Interacting Galaxies
RA 09hr 13m 39.00s Dec -10° 19' 20.3"
Hydra
700 million light-years (200 million parsecs)
ACS/WFC
October 31, 2001
33 minutes
F435W (B) and F814W (I)
NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, & A. Evans (U of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook Univ)
April 24, 2008
ABOUT THIS IMAGE:
2MASX J09133888-1019196 comprises two interacting galaxies that are both disturbed by gravitational interaction. The wide separation of the pair - approximately 130,000 light-years - suggests that the galaxies are just beginning to merge. Together the two galaxies form an ultra-luminous infrared system, which is unusual for the early stages of an interaction. One possible explanation is that the one or both of the components have already experienced a merger or interaction. Giant black holes lurk at the cores of both galaxies, which are found in the constellation of Hydra, the Sea Serpent, about 700 million light-years away from Earth.
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.