The spectacular images of galaxy collisions capture the imagination.
This book will show what is out there in the universe, what it's like in
other galaxies, what they might look like, and how cosmic processes
might affect life in other solar systems. It will explain crucial stages
in the development of physical structure in the universe, and the effect
of galaxy scale processes. Professor Struck will explore all the issues
surrounding galaxy collisions. He will begin with a brief broad review
of the background on galaxies, the history of their discovery, and how
this has been driven by steadily improving technology. Chapters 2 gives
details of the early stages of different types of galaxy collision -
Rings of Fire, Tidal Swings and Retrograde and Sideways Reels - while
Chapter 3 describes collisions between galaxies of very different
masses: minor merger or dwarf destruction. Chapter 4 covers
ultra-luminous infrared galaxies and major mergers and Chapter 5 briefly
examines the techniques used for computer simulation results and how
increasing computer capacity has affected the development of this field.
The following chapter looks at understanding the physical processes of
triggered star formation and nuclear activity. Chapters 7-9 look at the
broader view of cosmological structure growth which determines the
environment and conditions in which galaxy collisions occur. In the
densest environments, this process repeats itself on the larger scale of
galaxy clusters. The concluding chapter considers what a galaxy
collision looks like from a solar system like ours. Although the galaxy
is completely restructured and the night sky view would change greatly
over the course of several hundred million years, the direct effects on
our planet would be few and infrequent, with only a small probability of
being truly catastrophic. These issues will be explored along with the
ideas that galaxies must reach a certain evolutionary "maturity" before
they can even form solar systems, and that there are habitable zones
within galaxies. Thus, galaxy scale processes, like collisions, can
determine the fate of life on Earth-like planets.
