astronomy

Mice Galaxies

Mice Galaxies is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Mice Galaxies rather than just read about it. In short: NGC 4676, or the Mice Galaxies, are two spiral galaxies in the constellation Coma Berenices. About 105.8 megaparsecs (345 million light-years) distant, they have begun the process of colliding and merging.

Key takeaways

Mice Galaxies belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Mice Galaxies to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Mice Galaxies from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

NGC 4676, or the Mice Galaxies, are two spiral galaxies in the constellation Coma Berenices. About 105.8 megaparsecs (345 million light-years) distant, they have begun the process of colliding and merging. Their "mice" name refers to the long tails produced by tidal action—the relative difference between gravitational pulls on the near and far parts of each galaxy—known here as a galactic tide. It is a possibility that both galaxies, which are members of the Coma Cluster, have experienced a collision, and will continue colliding until they coalesce. The colors of the galaxies are peculiar. In NGC 4676A a core with some dark markings is surrounded by a bluish white remnant of spiral arms. The tail is unusual, starting out blue and terminating in a more yellowish color, despite the fact that the beginning of each arm in virtually every spiral galaxy starts yellow and terminates in a bluish color. NGC 4676B has a yellowish core and two arcs; arm remnants underneath are bluish as well. The galaxies were photographed in 2002 by the Hubble Space Telescope. In the background of the Mice Galaxies, there are over 3000 galaxies, at distances up to 13 billion light-years.

See also Antennae Galaxies NGC 7318 List of galaxies

Notes

References

Further readings Chien, Li-Hsin; Barnes, Joshua E.; Kewley, Lisa J.; Chambers, Kenneth, C. (May 2007). "Multiobject Spectroscopy of Young Star Clusters in NGC 4676". The Astrophysical Journal. 660 (2): L105–L108. arXiv:astro-ph/0703510. Bibcode:2007ApJ...660L.105C. doi:10.1086/518215. S2CID 119417388.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: When Mice Collide (12 June 2004) The Mice Galaxies

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Mice Galaxies

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Mice Galaxies claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Mice Galaxies before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Mice Galaxies ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Mice Galaxies

In research: Mice Galaxies appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Mice Galaxies in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Mice Galaxies is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Arp objects, Barred lenticular galaxies, Coma Berenices, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Mice Galaxies outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Mice Galaxies in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Mice Galaxies means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Mice Galaxies out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mice Galaxies in simple terms?

Why does Mice Galaxies matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Mice Galaxies?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Mice Galaxies.