Credits: ESA / Hubble

NGC4038 and NGC4039 are known as the Antennae Galaxies. Once normal, sedate spiral galaxies like the Milky Way,
the pair have spent the past few hundred million years sparring with one another.
This clash is so violent that stars have been ripped from their host galaxies to form a streaming arc between the two.

Facts about NGC4038 and NGC4039 by Keith Turnecliff

Eventually the nuclei will coalesce, and the galaxies will begin their retirement together as one large elliptical galaxy.

This star chart represents a view from Long Itchington for early May at 10pm.
Credits: Image courtesy of Starry Night Pro Plus 8, researched and implemented by Keith Turnecliff.