THE IMPENDING DESTRUCTION OF NGC 1427A (STScI-PRC05-09-Heritage)

FOR RELEASE: 9:00 am (EST) March 3, 2005

PHOTO NO.: STScI-PRC05-09

THE IMPENDING DESTRUCTION OF NGC 1427A

What happens when a galaxy falls in with the wrong crowd? The
irregular galaxy NGC 1427A is a spectacular example of the resulting
stellar rumble. Under the gravitational grasp of a large gang of
galaxies, called the Fornax cluster, the small bluish galaxy is
plunging headlong into the group at 600 kilometers per second or nearly
400 miles per second. The galaxy was imaged by the Hubble Space
Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys in January 2003.

Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: M. Gregg (Univ. Calif.-Davis and Inst. for Geophysics
and Planetary Physics, Lawrence Livermore Natl. Lab.)

To see and read more, please visit:
http://hubblesite.org/news/2005/09
http://heritage.stsci.edu/2005/09

The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), for
NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
MD. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation
between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

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