An unusual predatory galaxy is preparing for a new attack: what astronomers have discovered (photos)

Astronomers have studied an unusual elliptical galaxy using the ground-based VLT telescope and discovered that it acts as a cosmic predator, having repeatedly consumed neighboring galaxies. Thanks to a new image, scientists revealed not only this but also that there is another target for its consumption nearby. The research has been published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, reports Space.

With the new images, astronomers found that NGC 3640 has absorbed other galaxies over the past several billion years and is now preparing to do the same with the smaller galaxy NGC 3641, which is visible in the new photograph below, closer than NGC 3640.

According to astronomers, galaxies change over their long lifespans. They can not only take stars and interstellar gas from other galaxies but also completely consume them. As a result of such events, galaxies become distorted, as can be seen in the case of NGC 3640.

When two galaxies approach each other, their mutual gravitational attraction intensifies, leading to a collision and subsequent merger of the two objects. This event results in the formation of an even larger galaxy, but the structures of the original galaxies are destroyed.

Astronomers state that NGC 3641 still has some time before it gets absorbed by its larger neighbor. In the images, the scientists did not observe any signs that the structure of NGC 3641 is being affected by the gravity of NGC 3640. This indicates that the latter is still far from its new prey.

Astronomers utilized new data to trace the history of the galaxy NGC 3640. All galaxy collisions leave distinctive "scars" on the body of the object that resulted from the collision. Typically, these are the first stars that were created in the original galaxy. It is thanks to such stars that astronomers determined that NGC 3640 had previously absorbed other galaxies.