What is a tidal tail astronomy?

What is a tidal tail astronomy?

Tidal tails are the result of gravitational interactions between galaxies. During the interaction, gas and stars are often stripped from the outer regions of the galaxies to form two tidal tails: one trailing and one preceeding each galaxy.

Why are tidal tails curved?

Most tidal tails are slightly curved due to the rotation of the host galaxies. Those that are straight may actually be curved but still appear to be straight if they are being viewed edge-on.

What picture did NASA take on the 15th May 2004?

Astronomy Picture of the Day Explanation: In this stunning vista recorded with the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for disrupted spiral galaxy Arp 188, the Tadpole Galaxy.

What is galactic cannibalism?

Astronomers have detected what they believe to be one of the earliest instances of “galactic cannibalism” — when one galaxy consumes one of its smaller neighbors — in an ultrafaint dwarf galaxy called Tucana II.

Why does the Tadpole Galaxy have a tail?

Scientists believe that a more compact intruder galaxy crossed in front of Arp 188 – from left to right in this view – and was slung around behind the Tadpole via gravitational attraction. During the close encounter, tidal forces drew out the galaxy’s stars, gas, and dust forming the spectacular tail.

Which type of galaxy is often distorted and has tidal tails?

Two very prominent examples of collisions producing tidal tails are the Mice Galaxies and the Antennae Galaxies.

What did Hubble see August 12 2004?

12 August 2004: In this unusual image, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures a rare view of the celestial equivalent of a geode – a gas cavity carved by the stellar wind and intense ultraviolet radiation from a young hot star.

What is the largest known star called?

UY Scuti
The largest known star in the universe, UY Scuti is a variable hypergiant with a radius around 1,700 times larger than the radius of the sun. To put that in perspective, the volume of almost 5 billion suns could fit inside a sphere the size of UY Scuti.

Is the Milky Way a starburst galaxy?

However, even though the Milky Way is a normal galaxy, it contains active star-forming regions that resemble starbursts. Using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, researchers found that the stars in the Milky Way’s mini-starburst aren’t noticeably different from those made in ordinary star forming regions.

Can the Earth survive Andromeda collision?

Luckily, experts think that Earth will survive, but it won’t be entirely unaffected. The collision will unfold right in front of us, changing the night sky to look like nothing any human has seen before.

What is the likely future of a starburst galaxy?

47. What is the likely future of a starburst galaxy? It will eventually run out of gas and dust for star formation.

Where is the Great Attractor?

The location of the Great Attractor was finally determined in 1986: It is situated at a distance of somewhere between 150 and 250 Mly (million light-years) (47–79 Mpc) (the larger being the most recent estimate) away from the Milky Way, in the direction of the constellations Triangulum Australe (The Southern Triangle) …

Where are tidal streams?

coastal rivers
Rectilinear tidal currents, which typically are found in coastal rivers and estuaries, experience a “slack water” period of no velocity as they move from the ebbing to flooding stage, and vice versa.