Interacting Galaxies
RA 10h 59m 18.31s Dec 24° 32' 34.0"
Leo
400 million light-years (100 million parsecs)
HST>ACS/WFC
November 14, 2001
33 minutes
F435W (B) and F814W (I)
NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (U of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
April 24, 2008
ABOUT
THIS IMAGE:
IRAS F10565+2448 is a system that appears to consist of two colliding galaxies. The larger galaxy has dust lanes, while the smaller galaxy has a pronounced curved tail that has been pulled away from the center (downwards as seen here). IRAS F10565+2448 is located in the constellation of Leo, the Lion, about 600 million light-years away. Some scientists regard this system as a candidate for a three-galaxy system. The nature of the third object is unknown.
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