Merging Pair

The Mice (NGC 4676)

NGC 4676A and 4676B — nicknamed "The Mice" — are two spiral galaxies that have already passed through each other once and are slowly merging. Long tidal tails of stars stretch 300,000 light-years into space, resembling the tails of mice. In

Want to explore further?
Browse the Galaxies section of the StellarGuide — hundreds of astronomy cards, bilingual and free.
See the section →