February 18, 1996
Galaxies were colliding long before you were born, and they will keep colliding long after us all.
Abell 3627 in the Great Attractor
Birthday · February 18, 1996
A little universe, just for you
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APOD published February 18, 1996. Credit: STScI, AAO, UK-PPARC, ROE. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
Are these galaxies near the center of the largest gravitationally bound concentration of mass yet known? Previously, the cluster of galaxies known as Abell 3627 was largely unstudied because dust in the disk of our own Galaxy obscured much of its light. Several galaxies from Abell 3627 appear above as fuzzy blue patches behind many stars in our Galaxy. Recent observations by Renee Kraan-Korteweg (Paris Observatory) and collaborators, however, indicate that this cluster of galaxies is near the center of the huge nearby conglomeration of mass known as the Great Attractor. Evidence for this was uncovered in new accurate measurements of the large extent and nearby distance of Abell 3627.
Image credit: STScI, AAO, UK-PPARC, ROE