{"copyright":"Vikas Chander","date":"2025-12-11","explanation":"Large galaxies g row by eating small ones. Even our own galaxy engages in a sort of galactic cann ibalism, absorbing small galaxies that are too close and are captured by the Mil ky Way's gravity. In fact, the practice is common in the universe and illustrate d by this striking pair of interacting galaxies from the banks of the southern c onstellation Eridanus, The River. Located over 50 million light years away, the large, distorted spiral NGC 1532 is seen locked in a gravitational struggle with dwarf galaxy NGC 1531, a struggle the smaller galaxy will eventually lose. Seen nearly edge-on, in this sharp image spiral NGC 1532 spans about 100,000 light-y ears. The NGC 1532\/1531 pair is thought to be similar to the well-studied syste m of face-on spiral and small companion known as M51.","hdurl":"https:\/\/apod.n asa.gov\/apod\/image\/2512\/NGC1532.jpg","media_type":"image","service_version": "v1","title":"Galaxies in the River","url":"https:\/\/apod.nasa.gov\/apod\/image \/2512\/NGC1532_1024.jpg"}
