AST-537beginner

Galaxy Mergers & Interactions: Structures & Vocabulary

Galaxies frequently influence one another through tides, close passages, minor accretion events, and major mergers. Mergers explain morphological transformation, bulge growth, starbursts, central black-hole fueling, and the hierarchical buildup of massive galaxies.

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Galaxy Mergers & Interactions: Structures & Vocabulary

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AST-536Galaxy Mergers & Interactions: Foundations→

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AST-538Galaxy Mergers & Interactions: Physical Mechanisms→

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Galaxies frequently influence one another through tides, close passages, minor accretion events, and major mergers.

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Differential gravity pulls stars and gas into elongated features.

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Nearby systems such as the Antennae show tidal tails and intense star formation, while deep imaging reveals shells and streams around apparently normal galaxies.