May 10, 2017
The universe is under no obligation to make sense to us, and yet here you are — a collection of atoms that somehow learned to think, to...
UGC 1810: Wildly Interacting Galaxy from Hubble
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APOD published May 10, 2017. Credit: Domingo Pestana. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
What's happening to this spiral galaxy? Although details remain uncertain, it surely has to do with an ongoing battle with its smaller galactic neighbor. The featured galaxy is labelled UGC 1810 by itself, but together with its collisional partner is known as Arp 273. The overall shape of the UGC 1810 -- in particular its blue outer ring -- is likely a result of wild and violent gravitational interactions. This ring's blue color is caused by massive stars that are blue hot and have formed only in the past few million years. The inner galaxy appears older, redder, and threaded with cool filamentary dust. A few bright stars appear well in the foreground, unrelated to UGC 1810, while several galaxies are visible well in the background. Arp 273 lies about 300 million light years away toward the constellation of Andromeda. Quite likely, UGC 1810 will devour its galactic sidekick over the next billion years and settle into a classic spiral form. Free Presentation: APOD Editor to speak in Prague on June 30
Image credit: Domingo Pestana