Decorative print of an image taken by the Hubble Telescope. © NASA
The Antennae Galaxies are a pair of strongly interacting galaxies in the constellation Corvus. The pair consists of the two galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC 4039.
NGC 4038 has an area of 5.2' x 3.1' and an apparent magnitude of +10.30. NGC 4039 has an area of 3.1' x 1.6' and an apparent magnitude of +10.40.
The merger of the two galaxies causes the interstellar gas to condense and induces star formation. The star-forming regions and associated emission nebulae formed in the process are visible as bright knots in the spiral arms. The Antennae Galaxies were discovered on 7 February 1785 by William Herschel.
