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Collection:
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NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
NASA Planetary Photo Journal Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Older Galaxy Pair Has Surprisingly Youthful Glow
Title
Older Galaxy Pair Has Surprisingly Youthful Glow
Title
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Original Caption Released with Image:
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Poster Version
A pair of interacting galaxies might be experiencing the galactic equivalent of a mid-life crisis. For some reason, the pair, called Arp 82, didn't make their stars early on as is typical of most galaxies. Instead, they got a second wind later in life -- about 2 billion years ago -- and started pumping out waves of new stars as if they were young again.
Arp 82 is an interacting pair of galaxies with a strong bridge and a long tail. NGC 2535 is the big galaxy and NGC 2536 is its smaller companion. The disk of the main galaxy looks like an eye, with a bright "pupil" in the center and oval-shaped "eyelids." Dramatic "beads on a string" features are visible as chains of evenly spaced star-formation complexes along the eyelids. These are presumably the result of large-scale gaseous shocks from a grazing encounter. The colors of this galaxy indicate that the observed stars are young to intermediate in age, around 2 million to 2 billion years old, much less than the age of the universe (13.7 billion years).
The puzzle is: why didn't Arp 82 form many stars earlier, like most galaxies of that mass range? Scientifically, it is an oddball and provides a relatively nearby lab for studying the age of intermediate-mass galaxies.
This picture is a composite captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera with light at wavelength 8 microns shown in red, NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer combined 1530 and 2310 Angstroms shown in blue, and the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy Observatory light at 6940 Angstroms shown in green.
Original_Caption_Rel eased_with_Image
Poster Version
A pair of interacting galaxies might be experiencing the galactic equivalent of a mid-life crisis. For some reason, the pair, called Arp 82, didn't make their stars early on as is typical of most galaxies. Instead, they got a second wind later in life -- about 2 billion years ago -- and started pumping out waves of new stars as if they were young again.
Arp 82 is an interacting pair of galaxies with a strong bridge and a long tail. NGC 2535 is the big galaxy and NGC 2536 is its smaller companion. The disk of the main galaxy looks like an eye, with a bright "pupil" in the center and oval-shaped "eyelids." Dramatic "beads on a string" features are visible as chains of evenly spaced star-formation complexes along the eyelids. These are presumably the result of large-scale gaseous shocks from a grazing encounter. The colors of this galaxy indicate that the observed stars are young to intermediate in age, around 2 million to 2 billion years old, much less than the age of the universe (13.7 billion years).
The puzzle is: why didn't Arp 82 form many stars earlier, like most galaxies of that mass range? Scientifically, it is an oddball and provides a relatively nearby lab for studying the age of intermediate-mass galaxies.
This picture is a composite captured by Spitzer's infrared array camera with light at wavelength 8 microns shown in red, NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer combined 1530 and 2310 Angstroms shown in blue, and the Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy Observatory light at 6940 Angstroms shown in green.
Original Caption Released with Image
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/ETS U
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/ETS U
Image Credit
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Produced By:
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California Institute of Technology
Produced_By
California Institute of Technology
Produced By
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Mission:
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Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Mission
Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Mission
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Mission:
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Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
Mission
Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX)
Mission
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Spacecraft:
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Galex Orbiter
Spacecraft
Galex Orbiter
Spacecraft
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Spacecraft:
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Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Spacecraft
Spitzer Space Telescope (SST)
Spacecraft
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Instrument:
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Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
Instrument
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
Instrument
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Product Size:
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975 samples x 700 lines
Product_Size
975 samples x 700 lines
Product Size
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facet_what:
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SST
facet_what
SST
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Explorer
facet_what
Explorer
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Galaxy Evolution Explorer
facet_what
Galaxy Evolution Explorer
facet_what
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facet_what:
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GALEX
facet_what
GALEX
facet_what
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facet_what:
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GALEX Orbiter
facet_what
GALEX Orbiter
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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California
facet_where
California
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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Image #:
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PIA09106
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UID:
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SPD-PHOTJ-PIA09106
UID
SPD-PHOTJ-PIA09106
UID
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orignial url:
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orignial_url
orignial url
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