Astronomy Picture of the Day ·

NGC 6240: Merging Galaxies

The Astronomy Picture of the Day for May 21, 2015 is “NGC 6240: Merging Galaxies,” an image. It is credited to Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage ( STScI / AURA ), A. Evans (U. Virginia / NRAO / Stony Brook U.). The original explanation runs about 120 words.

NGC 6240: Merging Galaxies
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage ( STScI / AURA ), A. Evans (U. Virginia / NRAO / Stony Brook U.) Shown from science.nasa.gov. Not hosted by OpenOrbit.

From the explanation

“NGC 6240 offers a rare, nearby glimpse of a cosmic catastrophe in its final throes. The titanic galaxy-galaxy collision takes place a mere 400 million light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus .”

— APOD editors, May 21, 2015

Read the full explanation on science.nasa.gov

At a glance

Date
May 21, 2015
Type
Image
Credit
Credit: Image Credit: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage ( STScI / AURA ), A. Evans (U. Virginia / NRAO / Stony Brook U.)
Copyright
No copyright notice on the entry. Check the credited institution’s own usage rules before reusing it.
Explanation length
About 120 words

All of May 2015 → · 2015 by month → · Full archive since 1995 →

Topics in this entry

GalaxiesBlack holes

Topics are matched from words in the title and explanation.

On this day: May 21 in other years

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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.