An Etymological Dictionary of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Two → interacting galaxies, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435, located in → Markarian’s chain of galaxies in the → Virgo cluster of galaxies. About 50 million → light-years away, the two galaxies are about 100,000 light-years apart. Gravitational → tidal forces from the → close encounter have ripped away at their stars, gas, and dust. The more massive NGC 4438 kept much of the material ripped out in the collision, while material from the smaller NGC 4435 was more easily lost.

See also: → Markarian galaxy; → eye.