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News Release 49 of 728

April 24, 2008 09:00 AM (EDT)

News Release Number: STScI-2008-16

Cosmic Collisions Galore!

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Image: Hubble Interacting Galaxy ESO 77-14

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ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

This Hubble image of ESO 77-14 is a stunning snapshot of a celestial dance performed by a pair of similar sized galaxies. Two clear signatures of the gravitational tug of war between the galaxies are the bridge of material that connects them and the disruption of their main bodies. The galaxy on the right has a long, bluish arm while its companion has a shorter, redder arm. This interacting pair is in the constellation of Indus, the Indian, some 550 million light-years away from Earth. The dust lanes between the two galaxy centers show the extent of the distortion to the originally flat disks that have been pulled into three-dimensional shapes.

This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

Object Names: ESO 77-14, ESO 077-IG014, AM 2317-692

Image Type: Astronomical

Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

Technical facts about this image:

About the Object

Object Name:	ESO 77-14, ESO 077-IG014, AM 2317-692
Object Description:	Interacting Galaxies
Position (J2000):	23 21 04.61 -69 12 56.5
Constellation:	Indus
Distance:	550 million light-years (150 million parsecs)

About the Data

Data Description:	The Hubble image was created using HST data from proposal 10592: A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
Instrument:	ACS/WFC
Exposure Date(s):	August 17, 2001
Exposure Time:	39 minutes
Filters:	F435W (B) and F814W (I)

About the Image

Image Credit:	NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
Release Date:	April 24, 2008