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SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2017
bour NGC 1512 are at the beginning
of a lengthy merger, a crucial process
in galaxy evolution. Despite its di-
minutive size, NGC 1510 has had a
significant effect on NGC 1512’s
structure and amount of star forma-
tion. Galaxies come in a range of
shapes and sizes, and astronomers
use this fact to classify them based on
their appearance.
NGC 1512, the large galaxy to the left
in this image, is classified as a barred
spiral, named after the bar composed
of stars, gas and dust slicing through
its centre. The tiny NGC 1510 to the
right (on the following page), on the
other hand, is a dwarf galaxy. Despite
their very different sizes, each galaxy
affects the other through gravity,
causing slow changes in their appear-
NGC 1512 and
NGC 1510, galactic
David and Goliath
by NASA/ESA
T
he gravitational dance be-
tween two galaxies in our lo-
cal neighbourhood has led to
intriguing visual features in both
as witnessed in this new NASA/ESA
Hubble Space Telescope image. The
tiny NGC 1510 and its colossal neigh-