This is an image of NGC 1253 and 1253a, a pair of colliding spiral galaxies in Eridanus that will eventually merge into a single, amorphous elliptical galaxy.? The two galaxies share a common envelope of hydrogen gas which is most easily seen in the area between the two galaxies.? The gravitational interaction has pretty clearly triggered a burst of new star formation in both galaxies as evidenced by the bright OB star associations where the two galaxies are closest together.? The image was captured during a 5-night period in December 2024 using a 12.5" PlaneWave scope and a QSI-640ws camera at f/8 from SkyPi? Remote Observatories.? Total LRGB integration was 17 hours.

?

?

Thanks for looking,

Bruce W.