The pair of galaxies NGC 1531/2, engaged in a
spirited waltz, is located about 70 million light-years away
towards the southern constellation Eridanus (The River). The
deformed foreground spiral galaxy laced with dust lanes NGC 1532
is so close to its companion — the background galaxy with a
bright core just above the centre of NGC 1532 — that it gets
distorted: one of its spiral arms is warped and plumes of dust
and gas are visible above its disc. The cosmic dance leads to
another dramatic effect: a whole new generation of massive stars
were born in NGC 1532 because of the interaction.
