This splintered galaxy has been ripped apart by a cosmic ‘hit and run’
A gigantic collision happened around 4.5 billion years ago
Nasa has shared an astounding image that shows a distant galaxy that’s been ripped in two.
The space agency says the galaxy, known as NGC 4485, was involved in an immense ‘hit and run’ with another galaxy that passed by.
Instead of destroying it completely, the cosmic collision ripped NGC 4485 in two, splitting the stars away from each other.
‘The right side of the galaxy is ablaze with star formation, shown in the plethora of young blue stars and star-incubating pinkish nebulas,’ explained Nasa.
‘The left side, however, looks intact. It contains hints of the galaxy’s previous spiral structure, which, at one time, was undergoing normal galactic evolution.’
At the bottom of the picture is the glowing yellow spot responsible for the destruction when. It’s a larger galaxy known as NGC 4490 and is speeding off into the cosmos following the collision that happened around 4.5 billion years ago.
There’s currently thought to be about 24,000 light years between the two galaxies, and the gravitational pull between them is still enough to create rippling patches of high-density gas.
‘This galaxy is a nearby example of the kind of cosmic bumper-car activity that was more common billions of years ago when the universe was smaller and galaxies were closer together,’ the space agency said.
The image was captured by the Wide Field Camera 3 on board the space-based Hubble telescope.