Galaxies don't normally look like this. NGC 3256 actually shows a current picture of two galaxies that are slowly colliding . Quite possibly, in hundreds of millions of years, only one galaxy will remain. Today, however, NGC 3256 shows intricate filaments of dark dust, unusual tidal tail s of stars, and a peculiar center that contains two distinct nuclei. Although it is likely that no stars in the two galaxies will directly collide , the gas, dust, and ambient magnetic fields do interact directly. NGC 3256 , part of the vast Hydra-Centaurus supercluster of galaxies , spans over 100 thousand light-years across and is located about 100 million light-years away.
6 May 2008
Galaxies Collide in NGC 3256
