NGC 1532
Along with the smaller galaxy NGC 1531 this pair of interacting galaxies islocated about 55 million light-years away from Earth in the southern constellation of Eridanus.
NGC 1531 – the small galaxy with a bright core lies just above the center of its companion and is a lenticular dwarf galaxy around 20,000 light-years across.
NGC 1532, the large galaxy is a nearly edge-on, deformed barred spiral galaxy about 180 thousand light-years across. While It may possess several dwarf companion galaxies, it is clearly interacting with NGC 1531.
These two galaxies lie so close together that each feels the influence of the other’s gravity. As a result NGC 1532 became distorted: one of its spiral arms is warped and plumes of dust and gas are visible above its disk. The interaction has also triggered bursts of star formation in both galaxies. Especially in NGC 1532 where a whole new generation of massive stars has been born, visible in the spiral arms.
In addition, material may have been transferred to NGC 1531, which shows an S-shaped dust lane crossing its center. Over time the gravitational interaction of the two galaxies will tear the NGC 1531 apart and merge its remains with NGC 1532.
Imaged in LRGB on our Officina Stellare RiDK 400 remote telescope at El Sauce (Obstech) in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
Image Processing: Mike Selby
System controlled by Voyager from Leonardo Orazi
Chile Team: Mike Selby , Stefan Schmidt, Leo Orazi, John Kasianowicz, Scott Johnson, Josh Balsam, Rick Stevenson
