The universe might be vast, but even with its vastness objects still collide. Asteroids every now and then collide with each other, with some being knocked out of the Asteroid Belt. This is true for galaxies as well, when two galaxies might be heading on a collision course. The result is often messy, with one galaxy being torn apart. But one giant collision produces eye-shaped galaxy which has fascinated observers.
Astronomers have found the eye shaped formation through the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA). One of the galaxies that has created this formation is IC 2163. The eye shaped formation was created when the galaxy collided with another galaxy called NGC 2207.
The two galaxies are very far from us, at around 114 million light years away. The result of the collision has produced what some might call as the "evil eye" of the universe. Such formations don't last long though, as they're mainly debris produced by the collision of two galaxies.
Michele Kaufman is the lead author of the study and was formerly an astronomer with Ohio State University in Columbus, according to Phys Org. She said that such eye shaped formations aren't common. They are also temporary, lasting for only around tens of millions of years.
The eye shaped formation is also fairly new, she stated. This gives astronomers an opportunity to study it and see what happens after the collision of galaxies. The outer portion of the eyelid is moving away fast, travelling at around 100 kilometers per second. It is expected to decrease in speed however as it is pulled back to move along with the galaxy's rotation.
Kaufman has noted that as the gases decelerate, molecular gas becomes even more dense. This can lead to gases piling up and in time produce new star clusters, she observed. Computer models have also been made to show how these eye shaped formations are made, as the Daily Mail reports.
Galactic collisions aren't as frequent as they were once. That is because the galaxies are moving away from each other at fast speeds, plus they are not as close as they once were. However collisions still occur when two galaxies are moving towards one another, as has happened that has created the eye shaped formation.
The collision produces eye-shaped galaxy. It shows that the universe is constantly changing and is very much vibrant. Earlier, a nearly naked supermassive black hole was found which has also been the result of a galactic collision.
