Comments on: Four-Galaxy Collision

By: VonSkippy

VonSkippy — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 05:56:40 +0000

See what happens when they don't use their turn signals!

By: zav

zav — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:12:08 +0000

Think of the insurance claims on that one.

By: ted

ted — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 23:13:35 +0000

You do merger of galaxies for a living? Do you charge by the galaxy, or the number of stars in the galaxy?

By: Paula

Paula — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:14:49 +0000

buma, there are several ways to check that, one of the best ones is redshift - it's, roughly, a measure of distance along line of sight. If they have similar redshifts, then they are interacting.
You can look for signs of interaction - see that bright blue bumpy strip in the middle? that's star formation triggered by the interaction!

I do merger of galaxies for a living. any questions, please dont hesitate!

By: buma

buma — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:56:26 +0000

A dumb question, but how do the experts know the four galaxies are not merely aligned with each other when veiwed from our vantage point?

By: Him

Him — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 05:11:50 +0000

And that folks, is why I want to help expand our horizons to the outer reaches of space.

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:31:35 +0000

The Chandra gets such good images, with a little help from the Hawaiian scope, one wonders why we need Hubble anymore.

By: Johnny Cat

Johnny Cat — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 02:15:00 +0000

Actually, ted, the grouping to the left of the blue stars looks like MJ, if the artists from Coraline had designed it. Otherwise, a very inspiring photograph.

By: ted

ted — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:44:49 +0000

I think I see Michael Jackson's ghost. Can you see him smiling to the right of the blue stars?