                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                              2024 February 20
   A distorted galaxy is shown with a string of stars trailing off on the
       left. Please see the explanation for more detailed information.

                   AM1054: Stars Form as Galaxies Collide
    Image Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI; Processing: J. English (U. Manitoba);
       Science: M. Rodruck (Penn State U. & Randolph-Macon C.) et al.;
                    Text: Jayanne English (U. Manitoba).

   Explanation: When galaxies collide, how many stars are born? For
   AM1054-325, featured here in a recently released image by the Hubble
   Space Telescope, the answer is millions. Instead of stars being
   destroyed as galaxy AM1054-325 and a nearby galaxy circle each other,
   their gravity and motion has ignited stellar creation. Star formation
   occurs rapidly in the gaseous debris stretching from AM1054-325’s
   yellowish body due to the other galaxy’s gravitational pull. Hydrogen
   gas surrounding newborn stars glows pink. Bright infant stars shine
   blue and cluster together in compact nurseries of thousands to millions
   of stars. AM1054-325 possesses over 100 of these intense-blue, dot-like
   star clusters, some appearing like a string of pearls. Analyzing
   ultraviolet light helped determine that most of these stars are less
   than 10 million years old: stellar babies. Many of these nurseries may
   grow up to be globular star clusters, while the bundle of young stars
   at the bottom tip may even detach and form a small galaxy.

                       Tomorrow's picture: bigger bird
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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