Object Analysis

The Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038/NGC 4039) are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus. They are currently going through a starburst phase, in which the collision of clouds of gas and dust, with entangled magnetic fields, causes rapid star formation.

They are named for the two long tails of stars, gas, and dust ejected from the galaxies as a result of the collision, resembling the antennae of an insect. These tidal tails were thrown out by the gravitational forces of the galactic merger, which began a few hundred million years ago.

The nuclei of the two galaxies are slowly merging to form a single giant elliptical galaxy. The Antennae Galaxies are the nearest and youngest example of a pair of colliding galaxies, providing astronomers with a preview of the eventual fate of the Milky Way and Andromeda collision.