As shown in a stunning image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a dramatic head-on collision between two galaxies caused an extraordinary triangular-shaped star creation frenzy like in Star Wars.
Arp 143 is the name given to a pair of interacting galaxies. On the right, there's NGC 2445, a brilliant, deformed star-forming spiral galaxy, and on the left, there's NGC 2444, a less remarkable partner galaxy.
NASA Hubble Space Telescope Finds 'Space Triangle'
Hubble Space Telescope found this stunning 'Space Triangle,' according to NASA's most recent YouTube video.
The video and photo below show that the galaxy on the right (NGC 2445) has a triangle form. Meanwhile, the galaxy on the left (NGC 2444) has a common shape: it's round.
Astronomers believed that both galaxies pass through each other igniting the unique triangular shape firestorm of star birth, which many called the "space triangle."
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies fueled the unusual triangular-shaped star-birthing frenzy, as captured in a new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
According to Julianne Dalcanton of the Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Astrophysics, the collision of two galaxies always creates rings of new stars.
However, Dalcanton and other astronomers are perplexed as to why NGC 2444 and NGC 2445 produced a triangle star formation rather than an oval or circular show.
Why Space Triangle Happened
According to NASA, the Space Triangle originated because the two galaxies are too near to one another.
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NGC 2444 is still tied to NGC 2445's gravitational pull, causing deformation of the bigger galaxy's star ring, according to the International Space Union. It may also contain a hot ring of gas that helps drive the gas from NGC 2445 away from its center. As a result, they aren't fully free of each other, and their odd interaction is warping the ring into this triangle.
Aside from that, there's the chance of an NGC 2444 hot halo gas, which is not visible. Experts believe that the two galaxies will remain connected if this idea is right.
The Space Triangle is still visible. However, when the two galaxies are released from each other's gravitational influences, there's a good likelihood that this star ring creation may change shape.
ARP Explained
If you come upon a space object called "Arp," you're in for a good time. The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, published in 1966 by astronomer Halton Arp, is a collection of oddball galaxies that don't match the template of typical galaxies.
Arp 143's two galaxies are moving away from one another. Near the core of NGC 2445, younger stars (about 1 million to 2 million years old) are forming.
CNet said the older ones can be detected in the blue "streamers" of stars that seem like tendrils between galaxies, stretching back 50 million to 100 million years.
Despite a succession of technological difficulties and its astonishing age, Hubble, a joint effort of NASA and the European Space Agency, is still going strong. NASA hopes it will flourish and continue to bring back magnificent observations like this one.
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