Space is as vast as it is awesome. Case in point, NASA took to its social media accounts recently to share a snapshot it managed to take of two galaxies “colliding” with one another amongst the cosmos. As the caption of the photo puts it, the galaxies are so close, they’re technically linked together as the tidal forces pull the smaller galaxy to the larger one.
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“When an object causes another object to change or stretch this is considered a tidal force,” NASA says about the photo shared to its Instagram. “The delicate streams of matter link the two galaxies together, as the direction of the tidal forces is away from the lower mass galaxy and toward the higher mass galaxy. Gas, dust, and even star systems could move toward one galaxy and away from the other as a result of tidal forces.”
NASA was able to capture a picture of the two galaxies because their energetic cores—known to scientists as active galactic nuclei (AGN)—were hidden by cosmic dust. If they weren’t hidden, the full “emission” of the AGNs would be too bright, drowning out the details captured in the photograph.
“Although it’s hard to tell from this image, the two galaxies have incredibly energetic cores, also known as active galactic nuclei . If this same image reflected the full emission of both AGNs, their brilliance would hide the detail of the galactic pair photographed here,” NASA adds.
The caption concludes, “The way galaxies evolve has a lot to do with the way they interact with one another. Merging, colliding or just brushing past are all interactions that could significantly affect their shape and structure. As common as these interactions may be – capturing an image of a galactic duo this dynamic is very rare.”
The photo itself is approaching nearly a million likes on Instagram as it continues to go viral days after being first shared.
