Astronomy Picture of the Day

   [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                               2022 November 8
   [2]The featured image shows a several interacting spiral galaxies with
   a bridge of stars and gas connecting the two brightest galaxies. Please
             see the explanation for more detailed information.

                    Galaxies: Wild's Triplet from Hubble
           Image Credit: [3]ESA/[4]Hubble, [5]NASA, [6]Dark Energy
    Survey/[7]DOE/[8]FNAL/[9]DECam/[10]CTIO/[11]NOIRLab/[12]NSF/[13]AURA,
                              [14]J. Dalcanton

   Explanation: How many galaxies are interacting here? This grouping of
   galaxies is called the [15]Wild Triplet, not only for the
   [16]discoverer, but for the number of bright galaxies that appear. It
   had been assumed that all three galaxies, collectively cataloged as
   [17]Arp 248, are [18]interacting, but more [19]recent investigations
   reveal that only the brightest two galaxies are sparring
   gravitationally: the big galaxies at the top and bottom. The [20]spiral
   galaxy in the middle of the [21]featured image by the [22]Hubble Space
   Telescope is actually far in the distance, as is the galaxy just below
   it and all of the other [23]numerous galaxies in the field. A striking
   result of these [24]giants jousting is a tremendous [25]bridge of
   stars, gas, and [26]dust that stretches between them -- a bridge almost
   200,000 [27]light-years long. Light we see today from Wild's Triplet
   left about [28]200 million years ago, when [29]dinosaurs roamed the
   Earth. In perhaps a billion years or so, the [30]two interacting
   galaxies will merge to form a [31]single large spiral galaxy.

                     Tomorrow's picture: nebular mystery
     __________________________________________________________________

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    Authors & editors: [43]Robert Nemiroff ([44]MTU) & [45]Jerry Bonnell
                                 ([46]UMCP)
          NASA Official: Phillip Newman [47]Specific rights apply.
              [48]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices
                A service of: [49]ASD at [50]NASA / [51]GSFC,
                         [52]NASA Science Activation
                           & [53]Michigan Tech. U.

References

   1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
   2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2211/WildTriplet_Hubble_3623.jpg
   3. https://www.esa.int/
   4. https://esahubble.org/
   5. https://www.nasa.gov/
   6. https://www.darkenergysurvey.org/
   7. https://www.energy.gov/
   8. https://www.fnal.gov/
   9. https://news.fnal.gov/tag/decam/
  10. https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/ctio/
  11. https://noirlab.edu/
  12. https://www.nsf.gov/
  13. https://www.aura-astronomy.org/
  14. https://www.simonsfoundation.org/people/julianne-dalcanton/
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild's_Triplet
  16. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wild_(Australian_scientist)
  17. https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Arp/Arp_contents.html
  18. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130514.html
  19. https://i.insider.com/55a67a7a371d22ce178b6624
  20. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spiral_galaxy
  21. https://esahubble.org/images/potw2244a/
  22. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/story/index.html
  23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap210802.html
  24. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap211004.html
  25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190325.html
  26. https://astronomy.swin.edu.au/cosmos/d/Dust+Grain
  27. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/light-year/en/
  28. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_evolutionary_history_of_life#Mesozoic_Era
  29. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171007.html
  30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap220606.html
  31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap120717.html
  32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221107.html
  33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html
  34. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html
  35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html
  36. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search
  37. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html
  38. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss
  39. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html
  40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html
  41. http://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=221108
  42. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap221109.html
  43. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html
  44. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/
  45. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html
  46. http://www.astro.umd.edu/
  47. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply
  48. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html
  49. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/
  50. https://www.nasa.gov/
  51. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/
  52. https://science.nasa.gov/learners
  53. http://www.mtu.edu/