This dramatic image of an interacting pair of galaxies was made using 8-meter Gemini South telescope at Cerro Pachon , Chile . NGC 1531 is the background galaxy with a bright core just above center and NGC 1532 is the foreground spiral galaxy laced with dust lanes. The pair is about 55 million light-years away in the southern constellation Eridanus . These galaxies lie close enough together so that each feels the influence of the other's gravity . The gravitational tug-of-war has triggered star formation in the foreground spiral as evidenced by the young, bright blue star clusters along the upper edge of the front spiral arm . Though the spiral galaxy in this pair is viewed nearly edge-on, astronomers believe the system is similar to the face-on spiral and companion known as M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy .
Media Credits & Attribution
Credit & Copyright: T. Rector ( U. Alaska Anchorage ), Gemini Obs. , AURA , NSF