<P> NGC 3447 comprises a couple of interacting galaxies . </P> <Li> <P> Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512 in the process of a lengthy merger with dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 1510 . </P> </Li> <P> Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1512 in the process of a lengthy merger with dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 1510 . </P> <P> Galactic cannibalism refers to the process in which a large galaxy, through tidal gravitational interactions with a companion, merges with that companion; that results in a larger, often irregular galaxy . </P>

In active galactic nuclei a collision or tidal interaction with another galaxy can