(ORDO NEWS) — An international team of astronomers took a picture of two galaxies UGC 12914 and UGC 12915. They collided 25-30 million years ago.
This led to the formation of a bridge of turbulent material connecting the two galaxies.
Although this intergalactic bridge is teeming with material, it is too turbulent. This prevents the start of the star formation process.
Very rarely do astronomers manage to get such a clear picture of colliding galaxies.
Collisions of galaxies are gigantic events that largely determine the evolution of the universe.
The mixing of stellar material is a dynamic process that can lead to the formation of molecular clouds populated by forming stars.
But the head-on collision of two galaxies UGC 12914 (on the left in the image) and UGC 12915 (on the right) 25-30 million years ago led to the formation of a different type of structure – a bridge of highly turbulent material connecting the two galaxies.
This pair of galaxies was named Taffy (“Taffy”). It is located at a distance of about 180 million light years from us in the direction of the constellation Pegasus.
A new image from the Gemini North Telescope, one of two observatories at the Gemini International Observatory, reveals the surprising feature that gave the galaxies their name.
A bridge is visible between the two galaxies, consisting of narrow molecular filaments, shown in brown, and hydrogen clumps, shown in red.
This complex structure resembles a toffee that stretches as the pair of galaxies slowly drift apart.
Collisions of galaxies can occur according to different scenarios, often involving a large galaxy and a smaller satellite galaxy.
When they drift next to each other, the satellite galaxy may be attracted to one of the major spiral arms of the larger galaxy.
A satellite galaxy can intersect with a larger galaxy – this leads to significant distortions of its own structure.
In all of these scenarios, the stellar material from both galaxies is mixed as a result of the gradual merging and redistribution of gas, like two pools of liquid that slowly spread over each other.
As a result of the accumulation and compression of gas, star formation can begin.
Forehead to forehead
A head-on collision is more like pouring liquid from two separate cups into a common bowl. When the Taffy galaxies collided, their galactic disks and gaseous components crashed into each other.
This led to a powerful release of gas. The gas has acquired strong turbulence. As the pair of galaxies pulled out of the collision, gas escaped from both galaxies and created a massive bridge between them.
The turbulence of stellar matter throughout the bridge now prevents the gas from being compressed, which is necessary for the formation of new stars.
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