While celestial bodies are usually very well named, the immediate impression I had of the 'The Antennae' was that it a very distinct appearance of a pulsating heart with a couple of tails at the end and so would be more aptly named something like Cupid - might be particularly relevant on Valentines Day!
Anyone else see this in the image?
The Antennae, galaxies in collision (APOD 30 Jun 2006)
Galaxies in collision (APOD 30 Jun 2006)
Okay, galaxies are mostly empty space: "...stars in the two galaxies - NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 - don't collide in the course of the ponderous, billion year or so long event." But surely it is possible for some stars to collide. A billion years is a long time.
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orin stepanek
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http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060630.html
Welcome Aidan! I see a beautiful dance that galaxies do when they combine.
Orin
Welcome Aidan! I see a beautiful dance that galaxies do when they combine.
Orin
Stars do occasionally collide, but it's a very rare occurance. Stars really are comparitively tiny objects on the galactic scale, dwarfed by the spaces between them. In very star-dense regions, such as the hearts of globular clusters, however, stars have been theorized to collide, leading to the appearance of blue straggler stars.
Don't just stand there, get that other dog!