Galaxy Mergers
Astronomers see a Rare “Double Quasar” in a Pair of Merging Galaxies
What's better than a quasar? That's right, two quasars. Astronomers have spotted for the first time two rare double-quasars, and…
When Galaxies Collide, Black Holes Don’t Always Get the Feast They Were Hoping for
What happens when galaxies collide? Well, if any humans are around in about a billion years, they might find out.…
Galaxy Mergers can Boost Star Formation, and it can Also Shut it Down
Galaxy mergers are beautiful sights, but ultimately deadly. In the midst of the collision, the combined galaxy will shine brighter…
Astronomers Find the Hollowed-Out Shell of a Dwarf Galaxy that Collided With the Milky Way Billions of Years Ago
In 2005 astronomers found a dense grouping of stars in the Virgo constellation. It looked like a star cluster, except…
A Stellar Stream of Stars, Stolen from Another Galaxy
Modern professional astronomers aren't much like astronomers of old. They don't spend every suitable evening with their eyes glued to…
Astronomers Find a Galaxy Containing Three Supermassive Black Holes at the Center
NGC 6240 is a puzzle to astronomers. For a long time, astronomers thought the galaxy is a result of a…
Astronomers Have Found a Place With Three Supermassive Black Holes Orbiting Around Each Other
Astronomers have spotted three supermassive black holes (SMBHs) at the center of three colliding galaxies a billion light years away…
The Earliest Example of Merging Galaxies Ever Found
Galaxy mergers are not particularly rare, but they are important events. Not only for the galaxies involved, but for scientists…
What is Galactic Evolution?
Galaxies have a natural life cycle, which began shortly after the Big Bang and will likely continue for several trillion…
Lazy Giant Galaxies Gain Mass By Ingesting Smaller Neighbors
The Anglo-Australian Telescope in New South Wales has been watching how lazy giant galaxies gain size - and it isn't…