Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

Spiral Galaxies in Collision

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for April 20, 2008 is “Spiral Galaxies in Collision,” an image. It is credited to Credit: Debra Meloy Elmegreen ( Vassar College ) et al. , & the Hubble Heritage Team ( AURA / STScI / NASA ). The original explanation runs about 121 words.

Spiral Galaxies in Collision
Credit: Debra Meloy Elmegreen ( Vassar College ) et al. , & the Hubble Heritage Team ( AURA / STScI / NASA ) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“Billions of years from now, only one of these two galaxies will remain. Until then, spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 will slowly pull each other apart, creating tides of matter, sheets of shocked gas , lanes of dark dust , bursts of star formation , and streams of cast-away stars .”

— APOD editors, April 20, 2008

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
April 20, 2008
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Debra Meloy Elmegreen ( Vassar College ) et al. , & the Hubble Heritage Team ( AURA / STScI / NASA )
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 121 words

All of April 2008 → · 2008 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

Galaxies

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: April 20 in other years

On Amazon

Popular picks for space fans

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Electronics Amazon Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition 32GB Read astronomy and space-history books anywhere. View on Amazon → Electronics Bose QuietComfort Wireless Headphones Noise-cancelling headphones for documentaries and launch livestreams. View on Amazon →

Source

Copy taken Oct 28, 2026, 2:39 AM EDT. The image and explanation belong to their creators. OpenOrbit is not affiliated with or endorsed by NASA.