'Located about 250 million light-years away in the constellation of Cancer (The Crab), NGC 2623 gained its unusual and distinctive shape as the result of a major collision and subsequent merger between two separate galaxies. This active star formation is marked by speckled patches of bright blue; these can be seen clustered both in the center and along the trails of dust and gas forming NGC 2623’s sweeping curves (known as tidal tails). These tails extend for roughly 50 000 light-years from end to end. NGC 2623 is in a late stage of merging. It is thought that the Milky Way will eventually resemble NGC 2623 when it collides with our neighboring galaxy, the Andromeda Galaxy, in 4 billion years’ time.'
The B52's "Planet Claire" live on ITV's "Get Fresh" (Plymouth, UK - 7/11/87)
NASA -
"Solar System & Beyond"
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