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                           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.   
      
                                  2023 October 24   
        Three large galaxies are shown, the rightmost two in collision. The   
      galaxy on the far right is a large spiral galaxy with one arm connected   
       to an unusual polar galaxy on the left. The smaller galaxy on the far   
      left is thought to be far in the background. Please see the explanation   
                          for more detailed information.   
      
                       Arp 87: Merging Galaxies from Hubble   
         Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing: Harshwardhan Pathak   
      
      Explanation: This dance is to the death. As these two large galaxies   
      duel, a cosmic bridge of stars, gas, and dust currently stretches over   
      75,000 light-years and joins them. The bridge itself is strong evidence   
      that these two immense star systems have passed close to each other and   
      experienced violent tides induced by mutual gravity. As further   
      evidence, the face-on spiral galaxy on the right, also known as NGC   
      3808A, exhibits many young blue star clusters produced in a burst of   
      star formation. The twisted edge-on spiral on the left (NGC 3808B)   
      seems to be wrapped in the material bridging the galaxies and   
      surrounded by a curious polar ring. Together, the system is known as   
      Arp 87. While such interactions are drawn out over billions of years,   
      repeated close passages will ultimately create one merged galaxy.   
      Although this scenario does look unusual, galactic mergers are thought   
      to be common, with Arp 87 representing a stage in this inevitable   
      process. The Arp 87 dancing pair are about 300 million light-years   
      distant toward the constellation of the Lion (Leo). The prominent   
      edge-on spiral galaxy at the far left appears to be a more distant   
      background galaxy and not involved in the on-going merger.   
      
                          Tomorrow's picture: open space   
        __________________________________________________________________   
      
          Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)   
               NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.   
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                              NASA Science Activation   
                                & Michigan Tech. U.   
      
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