Galactic Cannibalism

Galactic Cannibalism

The small and neat spiral galaxy on the righthand

side of this image is NGC 1317, which

has had a relatively sheltered and uneventful

lifespan so far. This is all about to change in

its near future, when the giant galaxy in the

centre, NGC 1316, bowls straight into it. This

lenticular monster already shows evidence

of having consumed a dust-rich spiral galaxy

around 3 billion years ago. It’s evidenced

by unusual dust lanes and tidal tails from

stars that have been torn from their original

positions and thrown into intergalactic space.

The galaxies are around 60 million light years

away in the southern constellation Fornax.