However, most galaxies are pulled towards one another and do not continue moving past each other because they do not have enough momentum and the gravitation pulls are too strong to escape. This means the larger galaxy begins to change the smaller one and merge this small galaxy into the larger one. Galaxies are made up of stars, material, gas, rocks, and dust.
When galaxies merge, the gasses interact with each other. Gasses in galaxies exist in large clouds that are spread throughout the galaxy system. This means that large clouds of gasses are more likely to run into other large clouds of gasses.
The gasses begin to become dense and experience more pressure. The combination of gasses can cause waves, and the gasses can collapse on themselves: Both of these actions cause new stars to form. When two galaxies of the same size are merging, many new stars form, making the merging galaxies brighter.
It lays at about Canis Major Dwarf. Another dwarf galaxy surrounding the Milky Way is the Sagittarius Dwarf. The Sagittarius Dwarf is small galaxy discovery in by R. Ibata, G. Gilmore and M.
Irwin RGO. Distance Learning Opportunities for Educators and Students. Astronomical Collisions November 1, General Informal Educator K Educator NASA News Pre-Services Educator When you think of these beasts colliding, don't imagine a car crash.
Instead, think of two swarms of bees mixing together. But even though the stars will generally miss each other, there can still be fireworks. Galaxies contain untold tons of gas and dust that are floating around, doing no harm, living uneventfully as nebulas. Those nebulas can persist for ages, but if given a kick — say, from a nearby supernova shock wave or, in a more relevant example, the complex gravitational interactions as two galaxies fly through each other — they can start to collapse in on themselves, fragmenting and condensing to form a new batch of stars.
When two galaxies are merging, the star formation rate ramps up to 10 times its normal pace. In a cosmic flash, billions of new stars are born. For a brief moment, astronomically speaking, the merged galaxy will be brighter than ever before.
But all that dazzle comes at a cost. If left alone, the galaxies could keep on quietly churning out new stars year after year, sipping on their precious gaseous reserves. But the chaos of the collision forces them to use up precious supplies too quickly.
Billions of new stars are born, most of them massive, only to die off shortly after the merger. And the final result of these mergers? Grand design spiral patterns ripped to shreds. Simple flat disk tangled into a misshapen lump. A vibrant mix of old and young stars burned up with only the faint embers — dying, cool, red dwarfs — left. Irregular galaxies , full of nothing but dim, red stars, are the leftovers of these great cosmic collisions.
It's the price paid for a moment of intergalactic glory. Learn more by listening to the episode "What happens when galaxies collide? Thanks to Jamal and Danny N. Original article on Space. Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more!
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