Galaxy Merger Simulation

Two galaxies collide under gravity. Test particles orbit the galactic cores while the cores interact.

Stars / galaxy: 300

Galaxy mass: 1.0

Encounter speed: 1.0

Cores are treated as massive point particles with full N-body gravity. Stars are massless test particles feeling only core gravity — the "restricted 3-body" approximation used in Toomre & Toomre (1972). Drag the canvas to pan. Watch tidal tails and bridges form as the galaxies merge.