VLA and HST Observations of the Antennae

These two colliding galaxies, NGC 4038 (top) and NGC 4039 (bottom) are collectively known as "The Antennae". The figure on the left shows the neutral hydrogen gas (HI) in blue, mapped with the NRAO Very Large Array, superimposed on an optical image from the CTIO 0.9m in green and white. This composite image shows the extent of the tidal tails of material that were pulled out of the two galaxies as they gravitationally interact with each other. The optical image on the right, made with the Hubble Space Telescope, shows the heart of these galaxies and the young clusters of stars created in the collision (courtesy STScI/NASA).

Optical image on the left obtained with the CTIO 0.9m telescope, and is a combination of CCD exposures taken in the Blue, Visible, and Red part of the spectrum. The VLA observations are a combination of C-array and D-array observations.

Legacy Astronomical Images

NRAO/AUI/NSF does not hold full copyright for this image. Contact the archivist for details.

Legacy Astronomical Image

NGC4038

STScI/NASA

VLA: J.E.Hibbard, J.M. van der Hulst, J.E. Barnes, R.M. Rich, B. Whitmore, F. Schweizer

Very Large Array (VLA)

HST

1996-06-03

spectral line

21 cm

1420.4 MHz

HI

RA 12:1:52.480, Dec: -18:52:2.900 (J2000)

0.300000 x 0.300000 degrees

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Galaxies Series

Peculiar Unit