Template:POTD/2007-08-03
The two Antennae Galaxies (NGC 4038 on the left and NGC 4039 on the right) are a pair of interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus that are undergoing a galactic collision. They are known as the 'Antennae' because the two long tails of stars, gas, and dust thrown out of the galaxies as a result of the collision resemble the antennae of an insect. The nuclei of the two galaxies are joining to become one supergalaxy. This is likely the future of our Milky Way when it collides with Andromeda.Photo credit: Hubble Space Telescope