How do galaxies grow?

Composite colour-image of the brightest galaxies in four groups located about 4 billion light-years away. The galaxies are ordered in increasing stellar mass, i.e. a rough time sequence. The brightest galaxies in group 1 and 2 both have obvious bright, gravitationally bound companions. Further images obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope shows that the brightest galaxy in group 3 has a double nucleus. Thus, these galaxies are currently in the process of merging. This discovery provides unique and powerful validation of hierarchical formation as manifested in both galaxy and cluster assembly.

Bildnachweis:

ESO

Über das Bild

ID:eso0824a
Typ:Zusammenstellung
Veröffentlichungsdatum:26. August 2008
Dazugehörige Veröffentlichungen:eso0824
Größe:1646 x 408 px

Über das Objekt

Name:Galaxies
Typ:Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Kategorie:Galaxies

Bildformate

Großes JPEG
184,2 KB