Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 3690

This system consists of a pair of galaxies, dubbed NGC 3690 (or Arp 299), which made a close pass some 700 million years ago. As a result of this interaction, the system underwent a fierce burst of star formation. In the last fifteen years or so six supernovae have popped off in the outer reaches of the galaxy, making this system a distinguished supernova factory. Arp 299 belongs to the family of ultra-luminous infrared galaxies and is located in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, approximately 150 million light-years away. It is the 299th galaxy in Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. Despite its enormous amount of absorbing dust, enough violet and near-ultraviolet light leaks out for it to be number 171 in B.E. Markarian's catalog of galaxies with excess ultraviolet emission.

This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

About the data

HST Proposal: 10592 A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)