A collision of two galaxies has left a merged star system with an unusual appearance as well as bizarre internal motions. Messier 64 (M64) resides roughly 17 million light-years from Earth. M64 appears to be a fairly normal pinwheel-shaped spiral galaxy. As in the majority of galaxies, all of the stars in M64 are rotating in the same direction. However, detailed studies in the 1990's led to the remarkable discovery that the interstellar gas in the outer regions of M64 rotates in the opposite direction from the gas and stars in the inner regions. Active formation of new stars is occurring in the shear region where the oppositely rotating gases collide, are compressed, and contract. Astronomers believe that the oppositely rotating gas arose when M64 absorbed a satellite galaxy that collided with it, perhaps more than one billion years ago. This small galaxy has now been almost completely destroyed, but signs of the collision persist in the backward motion of gas at the outer edge of M64.
Genre: Space Exploration Album: Hal McGee Tapegerm Collection Volume Four Label: Credits: M.Nomized Guest Artist (Tier 3 Ex Sonic 1 and Ex Sonic 3); Hal McGee FTP loops (Moog Voyager, Octave Cat and Moog MG-1 synthesizers)
Don Campau said, "More flights of fancy from way out or maybe way in, I can't tell. As written by James Blish in a sci-fi story once, this is a soundtrack to an entire universe in one drop of water. "
Dave Fuglewicz said, "A beautiful soundtrack to galactic cataclysm."
