Hickson Compact Group 87 in Capricornus
author: Gemini obs./Novapix
reference: a-amg02-00201
Image Size 300 DPI: 27 * 27 cm
Group of interacting galaxies located at about 400 million light-years. The largest galaxy member (HCG 87a), which is actually disk-shaped, but tilted so that we see it nearly edge-on and its elliptically shaped nearest neighbor (87b) have active galactic nuclei which are believed to harbor black holes that are consuming gas. A third group member, the nearby spiral galaxy 87c, may be undergoing a burst of active star formation. These three galaxies are so close to each other that gravitational forces disrupt their structure and alter their evolution.