Hubble Space Telescope image of galaxies NGC 1410 (left) and NGC 1409 (right) NASA: William C. Keel University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

NGC 1409 and NGC 1410 are galaxies captured together by their gravity and spinning around each other at 670,000 miles an hour in the constellation Taurus.

In this Hubble Space Telescope image, an intergalactic pipeline can be seen as a dark thread bridging them. Astronomers think this a fine stream of gas and dust funnels across 20,000 lightyears of space from NGC 1410 to NGC 1409.

One-Way Flow. Why does the pipeline flow only one way, toward NGC 1409? Why hasn't the material coming into NGC 1409 fueled the birth of more stars in NGC 1409. The researchers are not sure. However, they speculate that the pipeline has not provided the galaxy with enough elemental star-making material and gas entering NGC 1409 is too hot.

On the other hand, the interaction seems to have kindled rapid star birth in NGC 1410 as seen in the blue color in the galaxy's arms.

Astronomers expect that the two galaxies will continue to ebb and flow until they finally merge 200 million years from now.

To learn more:

• William Keel of the University of Alabama
  
• 197th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in San Diego