Probing for MACHOs in the peanut butter and jelly galaxies

Peanut butter and jelly. Ham and eggs. Good things happen by combination. The two pictured galaxies make a lovely couple, don’t you think? But while they might appear to be on a collision course, it’s only illusion – they’re in … Continue reading →

The galaxies NGC 3314 A and B overlap in this photo made by the Hubble Space Telescope. It’s only a chance alignment of two galaxies at different distances. Click for a large version. Credit: NASA/ESA
Peanut butter and jelly. Ham and eggs. Good things happen by combination. The two pictured galaxies make a lovely couple, don’t you think? But while they might appear to be on a collision course, it’s only illusion – they’re in the same line of sight and aligned by chance.
Interacting or colliding galaxies often have shapes deformed by the gravitational tug of one upon the other. While the foreground galaxy, called NGC 3314A, is a bit out of whack – notice the inflated spiral arms dotted with hot blue patches of star formation on the right – its out-of-round shape is intrinsic and not due to the pull of NGC 3314B in the background.
Look at all those delicious swirls of ...