Snakes and Stones NGC 4194
Often referred to by its somewhat drier New General Catalogue designation of NGC 4194, this was not always one entity, but two. An early galaxy consumed a smaller gas-rich system, throwing out streams of stars and dust out into space. These streams, seen rising from the top of the merger galaxy, resembles the writhing snakes that Medusa, a monster in ancient Greek mythology, famously had on her head in place of hair, lending the object its intriguing name.
The legend of Medusa also held that anyone who saw her face would transform into stone. In this case, you can feast your eyes without fear on the centre of the merging galaxies, a region known as Medusa's eye. All the cool gas pooling here has triggered a burst of star formation, causing it to stand out brightly against the dark cosmic backdrop.
The Medusa merger is located about 130 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear).
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NGC 4194NGC 4194 = Arp 160 ist eine irreguläre Galaxie im Sternbild Großer Bär am Nordsternhimmel, die schätzungsweise 115 Mio. Lichtjahre von der Milchstraße entfernt ist. Es wird auch „Galaxie der Medusa“ genannt, weil sich nach dem Zusammenstoß der Galaxien ein Flutschwanz gebildet hat, dessen Form dem Haar der Medusa ähnelt. Halton Arp gliederte seinen Katalog ungewöhnlicher Galaxien nach rein morphologischen Kriterien in Gruppen. Diese Galaxie gehört zu der Klasse Galaxien mit innerer Absorption. .. weiterlesen