Gravitational tug of war warps spiral shape of galaxy
Wednesday, April 20, 2011 - 13:30
in Astronomy & Space
A pair of galaxies in a new image display some curious features, demonstrating that each member of the duo is close enough to feel the distorting gravitational influence of the other. The gravitational tug of war has warped the spiral shape of one galaxy, NGC 3169, and fragmented the dust lanes in its companion NGC 3166. Meanwhile, a third galaxy, NGC 3165, has a front-row seat to the gravitational twisting and pulling.