NGC 7714：星系碰撞后发生的星暴

2019 October 9

NGC 7714: Starburst after Galaxy Collision
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive;
Processing & Copyright: Rudy Pohl

Explanation: Is this galaxy jumping through a giant ring of stars? Probably not. Although the precise dynamics behind the featured image is yet unclear, what is clear is that the pictured galaxy, NGC 7714, has been stretched and distorted by a recent collision with a neighboring galaxy. This smaller neighbor, NGC 7715, situated off to the left of the featured frame, is thought to have charged right through NGC 7714. Observations indicate that the golden ring pictured is composed of millions of older Sun-like stars that are likely co-moving with the interior bluer stars. In contrast, the bright center of NGC 7714 appears to be undergoing a burst of new star formation. The featured image was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 7714 is located about 130 million light years away toward the constellation of the Two Fish (Pisces). The interactions between these galaxies likely started about 150 million years ago and should continue for several hundred million years more, after which a single central galaxy may result.

NGC 7714：星系碰撞后发生的星暴
影像来源: NASA, ESA, Hubble Legacy Archive;
影像处理及版权: Rudy Pohl

说明：这个星系正在穿过一个巨大的恒星环吗？可能不是。尽管这幅精彩影像背后的精确动力学理论还不清楚，但可以确定的是，星系NGC 7714在最近与邻近星系的碰撞中被拉伸和扭曲了。这个位于影像左侧的较小邻近星系NGC 7715径直穿过了NGC 7714。观察表明，影像中的金色光环是由数百万颗古老的类太阳恒星构成，它们可能与内部的蓝色恒星在同步移动。相比之下，NGC 7714的明亮核心似乎正在经历一场爆炸式的新星形成活动。这幅精彩的影像是由哈勃太空望远镜拍摄的。NGC 7714位于双鱼座方向，距离我们约1.3亿光年远处。这些星系之间的相互作用可能起始于1.5亿年前，并将再持续数亿年，之后可能会合并成一个中央星系。