---
title: "Astronomy Photo of the Day: 7/08/14 – Seyfert’s Sextet"
description: "[![Image Credit: NASA/ESA, J. English (U. Manitoba), S. Hunsberger, S. Zonak, J. Charlton, S. Gallagher (PSU), and L. Frattare (STScI)]()]() **Image Credit: NASA/ESA, J. English (U. Manitoba), S. Hunsberger, S. Zonak, J. Charlton, S. Gallagher (PSU), and L. Frattare (STScI)**"
date: "2014-07-08"
modified: "2014-07-08"
authors:
  - name: "Jaime Trosper"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jaimefqtq"
url: "https://futurism.com/apotd-seyferts-sextet"
categories:
  - "From Quarks to Quasars"
---

# Astronomy Photo of the Day: 7/08/14 – Seyfert’s Sextet

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Seyferts-Sextet.jpg>)

[![Image Credit: NASA/ESA, J. English (U. Manitoba), S. Hunsberger, S. Zonak, J. Charlton, S. Gallagher (PSU), and L. Frattare (STScI)](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Seyferts-Sextet.jpg>)](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Seyferts-Sextet.jpg>)
**Image Credit: NASA/ESA, J. English (U. Manitoba), S. Hunsberger, S. Zonak, J. Charlton, S. Gallagher (PSU), and L. Frattare (STScI)**

One thing the universe is not lacking is galaxies. We've found billions of them, yet we know there are many more [we are not capable of seeing](<https://futurism.com/seven-trillion-dwarfs-and-billions-of-undetected-galaxies>) just yet *(for a variety of reasons)*, yet it's pretty typical for galaxies to have millions of light years separating them *(our galaxy is more than 2 million light-years from its closest major spiral neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy)*. But there are exceptions to this: our galaxy itself has several smaller satellite galaxies — like the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy — in orbit around it.

This is one of them. Instead of having two semi large galaxies gravitationally interacting before a complete merger, this group of galaxies, known as Seyfert's Sextet, contains a whopping six galaxies *(one of them is not a galaxy, but a tidal tail of material, while the other is not participating in the galactic game of twister)*. All of which are comparatively small in size *(about 35,000 light-years in diameter)*. They all lurk at a distance of about 190 million light-years from our galaxy.

Overall, the galaxies take up less volume than our galaxy, which spans about 100,000 light-years across, does. All will continue to be shaped through tidal interactions, perhaps eventually merging to create a super galaxy, equipped with a star-making factory.

# THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COLLIDING GALAXIES:

\[raw\]\[/raw\]

## Author
Jaime is a freelance writer, who finds great joy in sharing the wonders of universe with others. She used this passion to launch "From Quarks to Quasars" in 2012.