Antennae Galaxies
| Antennae Galaxies | |
|---|---|
Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 4038 (top) and NGC 4039 (bottom) | |
| Observation data (J2000 epoch) | |
| Constellation | Corvus |
| Right ascension | 12h 01m 53.0s / 12h 01m 53.6s |
| Declination | −18° 52′ 10″ / −18° 53′ 11″ |
| Redshift | 1642 ± 12 / 1641 ± 9 km/s |
| Distance | 45 Mly / 65 Mly |
| Apparent magnitude (V) | 11.2 / 11.1 |
| Characteristics | |
| Type | SB(s)m pec / SA(s)m pec |
| Size | 500,000 ly (150 kpc) |
| Apparent size (V) | 5.2′ × 3.1′ / 3.1′ × 1.6′ |
| Notable features | Interacting galaxies |
| Other designations | |
| Ringtail Galaxy, NGC 4038 / 4039, PGC 37967 / 37969, Arp 244, Caldwell 60/61, UGCA 264/265 | |
The Antennae Galaxies (also known as NGC 4038/NGC 4039 or Caldwell 60/Caldwell 61) are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus. They are currently going through a starburst phase, in which the collision of clouds of gas and dust, with entangled magnetic fields, causes rapid star formation. They were discovered by William Herschel in 1785.