Right ascension 20 57 23.9 Redshift 10822 ± 10 km/s Apparent size (V) 0'.2 Magnitude 15.2 Apparent magnitude (V) 15.2 | Declination +17° 07′ 39″ Distance 0.5 Gly Notable features H II region Constellation Delphinus | |
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Similar UGC 8335, NGC 6090, AM 1316‑241, Arp 299, NGC 5256 | ||
The object ZW II 96 (also II Zw 96) is a pair of galaxies that are merging. It is located in the constellation Delphinus.
The shape of the merging galaxies is unusual; a number of powerful young starburst regions hang as long, threadlike structures between the main galaxy cores. The system almost qualifies as an ultraluminous system, but has not yet reached the late stage of coalescence that is the norm for most ultraluminous systems.
Zw II 96 is located in the constellation of Delphinus, the Dolphin, about 500 million light-years away from Earth.
The photograph is one of a collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This collection of images was released on the occasion of the 18th anniversary of Hubble's launch on 24 April 2008.