NGC 2207 and IC 2163 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are a pair of colliding spiral galaxies about 80 million light-year

Light-year

A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres...

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....

Canis Major

Canis Major is one of the 88 modern constellations, and was included in the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy's 48 constellations. Its name is Latin for 'greater dog', and is commonly represented as one of the dogs following Orion the hunter...

. Both galaxies were discovered by John Herschel

John Herschel

Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH, FRS ,was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor, who in some years also did valuable botanical work...

in 1835. So far three supernova

Supernova

A supernova is a stellar explosion that is more energetic than a nova. It is pronounced with the plural supernovae or supernovas. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy, before fading from view over several weeks or months...

e have been observed in NGC 2207 (SN 1975A

SN 1975A

SN 1975A a supernova located in NGC 2207/IC 2163. -References:*...

, SN 1999ec

SN 1999ec

SN 1999EC is a supernova in Canis Major.-References:*...

and SN 2003H

SN 2003H

SN 2003H was a supernova that appeared halfway between the colliding NGC 2207 and IC 2163 galaxies. It was discovered January 8, 2003, by the Lick Observatory and Tenagra Supernova Searches .-References:*...

). NGC 2207 is in the process of tidal stripping

Tidal stripping

Tidal stripping occurs when a larger galaxy pulls stars and other stellar material from a smaller galaxy.Galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are in the process of tidal stripping....

IC 2163.

In November 1999, the Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...

took a look at these galaxies.

In April 2006, the Spitzer Space Telescope

Spitzer Space Telescope

The Spitzer Space Telescope , formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility is an infrared space observatory launched in 2003...

also took a look at these galaxies (Picture seen below).

Merging galaxies

NGC 2207 is in the process of colliding and merging with IC 2163. But unlike the Antennae

Antennae Galaxies

The Antennae Galaxies are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus. They are currently going through a phase of starburst. They were discovered by William Herschel in 1785...

or the Mice Galaxies

Mice Galaxies

NGC 4676, or the Mice Galaxies, are two spiral galaxies in the constellation Coma Berenices. About 290 million light-years away, they are presently in the process of colliding and merging...

, they are still two separate spiral galaxies. They are only in the first step of colliding and merging. Soon they will collide, probably looking a bit more like the Mice Galaxies

Mice Galaxies

NGC 4676, or the Mice Galaxies, are two spiral galaxies in the constellation Coma Berenices. About 290 million light-years away, they are presently in the process of colliding and merging...

. In about a billion years time they are expected to merge and become an elliptical galaxy

Elliptical galaxy

An elliptical galaxy is a galaxy having an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless brightness profile. They range in shape from nearly spherical to highly flat and in size from hundreds of millions to over one trillion stars...

External links

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