Cosmic collision

Foto : X-ray: NASA/CXC/CfA/E. O'Sullivan Optical: Canada-France-Hawaii-
Telescope/Coelum


" Stephan's Quintet A Galaxy Collision in Action

Stephan's Quintet, a compact group of galaxies discovered about 130 years ago and located about 280 million light years from Earth, provides a rare opportunity to observe a galaxy group in the process of evolving from an X-ray faint system dominated by spiral galaxies to a more developed system dominated by elliptical galaxies and bright X-ray emission. Being able to witness the dramatic effect of collisions in causing this evolution is important for increasing our understanding of the origins of the hot, X-ray bright halos of gas in groups of galaxies."