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Binary galaxy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Binary galaxy is a system of two interacting galaxies where their distance is 5-10 times less than the distance of the nearest galaxies of comparable brightness and dimension.[1] The orbital periods of theses galaxies are typically in the timescales of hundreds of millions of years.[2] The Milky Way galaxy and the nearest galaxy, Andromeda galaxy may be classed as a binary galaxy.[3]

Binary galaxies, if spaced out a large distance, can be stable. However close pairs of galaxies can cause disruptions to their structures. They can also merge and become an interacting galaxy.[2]

These pairs of galaxies are useful in the field of astronomy to determine the mass of galaxies.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Karachentsev, I. D. (1979-11-01). "Binary galaxies" (in Russian) (6). ISSN 0044-3948. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ^ a b lilith.fisica.ufmg.br http://web.archive.org/web/20240319075433/http://lilith.fisica.ufmg.br/~dsoares/reino/binarias-e.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-03-19. Retrieved 2025-04-23. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. ^ "Binary galaxies". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-23.
  4. ^ "Modern Cosmological Observations and Problems - G. Bothun". ned.ipac.caltech.edu. Retrieved 2025-04-23.