Image: Hubble calms down after a galactic storm
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope spotted a diffuse, soft-looking galaxy. It is likely the result of a galactic collision that occurred a long time ago. Two spiral galaxies – each similar to the Milky Way – have been swirling together for millions years.
In these mergers, galaxies can be stretched and pulled apart while they wrap around the same center of gravity. This starry storm settles into a round object after a few back and forths. Technically, the now-subdued celestial object, SDSS J162702.56+432833.9 is known as an \”elliptical galaxie\”.
As gas clouds collide, a new burst of stars is formed. This occurs when galaxies merge, a common event throughout the universe. The galaxy is now blue, but this does not mean that it is cold. It is the result of intense heat from newly formed blue-white star. After a few billions years, the spectrum of an elliptical galaxies will be dominated by reddish-orange stars that have aged. Hubble helped astronomers discover this sequence of events by observing galaxy merging at every stage of the process.
Source:
https://phys.org/news/2018-02-image-hubble-calm-galactic-storm.html
