Wednesday, April 20, 2011

NGC 5090 and NGC 5091, a stunning pair of Interacting Galaxies!

NGC 5090 and NGC 5091, a stunning pair of Interacting Galaxies!
Click on the image for full resolution (4.2 MB)

A pair of galaxies NGC 5090 and NGC 5091 in Centaurus is shown in this image. They are located at about the same distance as ESO 269-57 and may belong to the same cluster of galaxies. This is an interacting elliptical-spiral system with some evidence of tidal disruption of NGC 5091 (to the left; seen under a steep angle) by NGC 5090 (to the right). The velocity of the nucleus of NGC 5091 has been measured as 3429 km/sec, while NGC 5090 has a velocity of 3185 km/sec. NGC 5090 is associated with a strong, double radio source (PKS 1318-43). This three-colour composite (BVR) was obtained with VLT ANTU and FORS1 in the morning of March 29, 1999. A bright star in the Milky Way, just outside the field at the upper left, has produced a pattern of blue straylight. The field size is 6.8x6.8 arcmin 2. North is up and East is to the left.
The full resolution image weighs 4.2 MB, so please be patient when downloading!
Credit: ESO

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