What is the Tadpole Galaxy?

The “Tadpole Galaxy” is a disrupted barred spiral galaxy located 400 million light years from Earth toward the northern constellation Draco. It is hypothesized that a more compact intruder galaxy crossed in front of the Tadpole Galaxy—from left to right from the perspective of Earth—and was slung around behind the Tadpole by their mutual gravitational attraction. During this close encounter, tidal forces drew out the spiral galaxy’s stars, gas, and dust, forming the conspicuous tail. The intruder galaxy itself, estimated to lie about 300 thousand light-years behind the Tadpole, can be seen through foreground spiral arms at the upper left. Following its terrestrial namesake, the Tadpole Galaxy will likely lose its tail as it grows older, the tail’s star clusters forming smaller satellites of the large spiral galaxy.  Astronomers believe that a smaller galaxy, the Intruder, crossed in front of the Tadpole Galaxy, from left to right as viewed from Earth.  The Intruder was slung around behind the Tadpole by their mutual gravitational attraction.  During this close encounter, tidal forces drew out the spiral galaxy’s stars, gas, and dust, forming the  long, conspicuous tail, which is  about  280,000 light-years long.

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