NASA. LARGE FORMAT. DEEP SPACE. This photographic... - Lot 291 - Vermot et Associés

Lot 291
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600 - 800 EUR
NASA. LARGE FORMAT. DEEP SPACE. This photographic... - Lot 291 - Vermot et Associés
NASA. LARGE FORMAT. DEEP SPACE. This photographic image of two distant interacting galaxies looks suspiciously like a penguin guarding an egg. Data from space telescopes and NASA's Hubble were combined to show these spectacular galaxies in light that covers the visible and infrared parts of the spectrum. The "penguin" part of the pair was probably once a relatively normal-looking spiral galaxy, flattened like a pancake with symmetric spiral arms. Rich in newly formed hot stars, visible in Hubble's visible light as bluish filaments, its shape has now been twisted and distorted in response to the gravitational tugs of its neighbor. Strands of gas mixed with dust stand out as red filaments detected at the longest wavelengths of infrared light seen by Spitzer. The "egg" of the pair, however, is virtually featureless. The distinct greenish glow of the starlight tells the story of a much older population of stars. The absence of glowing dust features informs us that the galaxy has long since lost its reservoir of gas and dust from which new stars can form. Although this galaxy certainly responds to the presence of its neighbor, its even distribution of stars masks any obvious distortion of its shape. These two galaxies will eventually merge to form a single object, where their two populations of stars, gas and dust will mix. This type of merger was probably an important step in the history of most of the large galaxies we see around us in the nearby universe, including our own Milky Way. 2018. Vintage chromogenic print. Numbering in the margin on the front. 40.6 X 40.6CM with margins.
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