IC 3418 Takes A Plunge And Leaves Stars In Its Wake

The turbulent starforming wake (or tail) of the galaxy IC 3418 is the result of its plunge through the hot gas that permeates the Virgo galaxy cluster.


Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Galactic Merger

In this composite image of the galaxy grouping, the bright, distorted object at middle, left, is actually two colliding dwarf galaxies. Myriad star clusters have formed in the streamers of debris pulled from the galaxies and at the site of their head-on collision. The cigar-shaped object above the galaxy duo is another member of the group. A bridge of star clusters connects the trio. A long rope of bright star clusters points to the fourth member of the group, at lower right. The bright object in the center is a foreground star. The image was composed from observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX).
Credit: NASA, ESA, S. Gallagher (The University of Western Ontario), and J. English (University of Manitoba)