Colliding galaxies electronically
Computer simulations reveal how normal galaxies get transformed as they fall under each other's gravitational spell.
Published:
July 25, 2005
| Anytime astronomers witness a collision between two large galaxies, they see only a snapshot. Galaxies are so big, and gravity is such a weak force, that collisions take hundreds of millions — if not billions — of years from first brush to final outcome. Observers can see different galaxy pairs at different stages of interaction, but this gives only a vague sense of what goes on in individual cases. |
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