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.

Crédit:

ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso0824a
Type:Collage
Date de publication:26 août 2008
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso0824
Taille:1646 x 408 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Galaxies
Type:Early Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Catégorie:Galaxies

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
184,2 Kio