Astronomy picture of the day 26-08-2014 - "Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail"

Arp 188 and the Tadpole's Tail
Image Credit: Hubble Legacy Archive,ESA, NASA; Processing & Copyright: Joachim Dietrich

Explanation: Why does this galaxy have such a long tail? In this stunning vista, based on image data from the Hubble Legacy Archive, distant galaxies form a dramatic backdrop for disrupted spiralgalaxy Arp 188, the Tadpole Galaxy. The cosmic tadpole isa mere 420 million light-years distant toward the northern constellation Draco. Its eye-catching tail is about 280 thousand light-years long and features massive, bright blue star clusters. One story goes that a more compact intruder galaxy crossed in front of Arp 188 - from right to left in this view - and wasslung around behind the Tadpole by their gravitational attraction. During theclose encounter, tidal forces drew out thespiral galaxy's stars, gas, and dust forming the spectacular tail. The intruder galaxy itself, estimated to lie about 300 thousand light-years behind the Tadpole, can be seen through foreground spiral arms at the upper right.Followingits terrestrial namesake, the Tadpole Galaxy will likely loseits tail as it grows older, the tail's star clusters forming smaller satellites of the large spiral galaxy.