400 million years ago, these two galaxies had been at odds with each other, but the end of the battle loomed.

Astronomers used the Victor M Blanco telescope to take an amazing picture of the colliding galaxies NGC 1512 and NGC 1510. One day, the two galaxies will merge and become one. The image clearly shows that the larger spiral galaxy and the smaller companion are influencing each other. For example, the path of light from stars connects both galaxies. Many new stars are born in this region as gas and dust vibrate.

This satellite image from the Blanco telescope also shows the regions surrounding both galaxies. This makes it easy to see how well NGC 1512’s arms extend. These galactic dendrites are strongly influenced by NGC 1510’s gravity.

shiny blue ring
This isn’t the first time this duo has been featured on the delicate palette. 2017 This Hubble image of “David and Goliath”† In the Hubble image, a bright blue ring 2,400 light-years in diameter appears at the center of NGC 1512. It is a breeding ground for many young stars. This ring is less visible in the Blanco telescope image.

Hubble image of 2017 from NGC 1510 and 1512.

fireworks in space
It is still unknown when the galaxies will actually merge, but this could take tens to hundreds of millions of years. Did you know that our Milky Way galaxy will one day collide with another galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy? You can read all about it in Claude Dome’s background article about fireworks in space†