NGC 2207 and IC2163 Interacting Galaxies in Canis Major

NGC2207 and IC2163 80million light years away in the constellation Canis Major. Credit : COAST automatic autonomous telescope - telescope.org - Open University - image by Pip Stakkert

" The two barred galaxies in this image are in the early stages of colliding and merging. Both galaxies are recognizably separate . NGC2207 is in the process of tidally stripping IC2163 and in about one billion years from now they are expected to merge and form an elliptical galaxy or possibly a disk galaxy. Both galaxies contain massive amounts of gas and dust and as a result of the gravitational impact upon each other there is evidence of rapid star formation. Four Supernovae have been observed in NGC 2207 since 1975.  The collision of these two galaxies is of particular interest as it is thought to reflect the probable fate and merger between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy." - Archie Mendes - visiting theoretical astronomer at the Jodrell Plank Observatory - Reydon University - 'School of Computer Modelling and Difficult Sums' 

Fantastic Image by the Hubble Space Telescope of NGC2207 and IC2163 -Credit:By NASA/ESA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI) - http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/opo9941a/http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/1999/41/image/a/ (direct link), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3603786