The Antennae

Some 60 million light-years away in the southerly constellation Corvus , two large galaxies collided . But the stars in the two galaxies, cataloged as NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 , don't collide in the course of the ponderous event , lasting hundreds of millions of years. Instead, their large clouds of molecular gas and dust do, triggering furious episodes of star formation near the center of the cosmic wreckage . Spanning about 500 thousand light-years, this stunning view also reveals new star clusters and matter flung far from the scene of the accident by gravitational tidal forces. Of course , the suggestive visual appearance of the extended arcing structures gives the galaxy pair its popular name - The Antennae.