These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster [ http://www.astr.ua.…], an archipelago of "island universes" [ http://www.physics.…] a mere 650 million light-years distant. This cluster is loaded with gas and dust rich, star forming, spiral galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] but has relatively few elliptical galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], which lack gas and dust and the associated newborn stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Colors in the composite image show the star forming galaxies with a blue tint and ellipticals with a slightly yellowish cast. In this cosmic vista many galaxies seem to be colliding [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] or merging [ http://www.astr.ua.…] while others seem distorted - clear evidence that cluster galaxies [ http://www-xray.ast…] commonly interact. Over time, the galaxy interactions are likely to affect the the content of the cluster [ http://www-xray.ast…] itself. Researchers believe that the Hercules [ http://www.astro.wi…Hercules.html ] Cluster [ http://crux.astr.ua…] is significantly similar to young galaxy clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the distant, early Universe and that exploring galaxy types and their interactions in nearby Hercules will help unravel the threads of galaxy [ ftp://crux.astr.ua.…] and cluster evolution [ http://oposite.stsc…].
Explanation
These are galaxies of the Hercules Cluster [ http://www.astr.ua.…], an archipelago of "island universes" [ http://www.physics.…] a mere 650 million light-years distant. This cluster is loaded with gas and dust rich, star forming, spiral galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] but has relatively few elliptical galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], which lack gas and dust and the associated newborn stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Colors in the composite image show the star forming galaxies with a blue tint and ellipticals with a slightly yellowish cast. In this cosmic vista many galaxies seem to be colliding [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] or merging [ http://www.astr.ua.…] while others seem distorted - clear evidence that cluster galaxies [ http://www-xray.ast…] commonly interact. Over time, the galaxy interactions are likely to affect the the content of the cluster [ http://www-xray.ast…] itself. Researchers believe that the Hercules [ http://www.astro.wi…Hercules.html ] Cluster [ http://crux.astr.ua…] is significantly similar to young galaxy clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the distant, early Universe and that exploring galaxy types and their interactions in nearby Hercules will help unravel the threads of galaxy [ ftp://crux.astr.ua.…] and cluster evolution [ http://oposite.stsc…].
