Known as RSCG 55, this spectacle of gravitationally entangled galaxies is located in the constellation Virgo. This image was captured by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) built by the Department of Energy and mounted on the Victor M. Blanco 4-meter telescope at the US National Science Foundation’s Cerro Tololo Observatory (CTIO) in Chile.
This is a group of interacting galaxies, meaning they are located close enough to exert a gravitational influence on each other. Over time, these gravitational interactions can greatly influence the evolution of galaxies, causing distortions in their shapes, increasing the rate of star formation, and causing galaxy mergers. Gravitational interactions between galaxies have had a major impact on the diversity of galaxies we see in the universe today. What signs of gravitational interaction can you see in this image? The most obvious examples are well-defined tidal bridges that appear as faint trails of intergalactic material. These bridges are made up of stars, gas and dust that moved from one galaxy to another during a close encounter in the past.
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