Arp 272 is a pair of colliding galaxies consisting of the two spiral galaxies

Spiral galaxy

A spiral galaxy is a certain kind of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work The Realm of the Nebulae and, as such, forms part of the Hubble sequence. Spiral galaxies consist of a flat, rotating disk containing stars, gas and dust, and a central concentration of stars known as...

 NGC 6050 and IC 1179 and lies around 450 million light years from Earth in the constellation

Constellation

In modern astronomy, a constellation is an internationally defined area of the celestial sphere. These areas are grouped around asterisms, patterns formed by prominent stars within apparent proximity to one another on Earth's night sky....

 of Hercules

Hercules (constellation)

Hercules is a constellation named after Hercules, the Roman mythological hero adapted from the Greek hero Heracles. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and it remains one of the 88 modern constellations today...

. The galaxies are part of the Hercules Cluster

Hercules Cluster

The Hercules Cluster is a cluster of about 100 galaxies some 650 million light-years distant in the constellation Hercules. It is rich in spiral galaxies and shows many interacting galaxies...

, which is itself part of the Great Wall.

The two galaxies in Arp 272 are in physical contact through their spiral arms.

External links

• STScI-2008-16 from Space Telescope Science Institute
  Space Telescope Science Institute
  The Space Telescope Science Institute is the science operations center for the Hubble Space Telescope and for the James Webb Space Telescope...
  
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