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Galaxy NGC 1316 is a massive elliptical galaxy located some 53 million light years away toward the constellation Fornax. The dark dust clouds visible against the bright nucleus may be the result of a collision between the massive elliptical galaxy and a less massive companion galaxy around 100 million years ago. A number of faint objects are distributed across the image, including faint blue star clusters orbiting NGC 1316. These star clusters were likely formed in an even earlier collision between NGC 1316 and another galaxy. The image shows a region about 12,000 light years on a side.
Image and text copyright © Astrographics. All rights reserved. Image courtesy of Space Telescope Science Institute. |
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