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> Hickson Compact Group 87 in Capricornus

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.

Keywords for this photo:

2003 - ACTIVE GALAXY NUCLEUS - AGN - ASTRONOMY - CAPRICORNUS - COLLISION - ELLIPTICAL GALAXY - GALAXY - GROUP - HCG 87 - INTERACTING - SOUTH GEMINI - SPIRAL GALAXY - STAR - STAR FORMATION -