Atomic Gas in the Antennae

Composite image of the nearby merging galaxy, NGC 4038/9, also known as "The Antennae", due to the antennae-like morphology of its two prominant tidal tails. The image shows a true-color representation of the optical starlight, with the neutral atomic gas depicted in blue. This system is composed of two spiral galaxies which are in the process of slamming together, throwing off two long, narrow tidal streamers. The atomic hydrogen observations, obtained with the VLA, provide information on both the distribution of the gas (as shown), as well as its kinematics. The latter are useful for constraining numerical models of the encounter to help astronomers construct its past and future evolution.

Optical image 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

J. Hibbard

J.E.Hibbard, J.M. van der Hulst, J.E. Barnes, R.M. Rich

Very Large Array (VLA)

1996-06-03

spectral line

21 cm

1420.4 MHz

HI

RA 12:1:52.480, Dec: -18:52:2.900

0.300000 x 0.300000 degrees

Contact the archivist for a high resolution tif of this image.

Galaxies Series

Peculiar Unit