7 Most Stunning Photos of Colliding Galaxies Captured by NASA

Shubhi Kumar
Nov 07, 2024

Galaxies in a Gravitational Dance

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, with the help of the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), has captured a remarkable image of two galaxies engaged in a gravitational interaction, each spiraling around the other in a graceful cosmic dance.

Messier 59

Officially named NGC 4621, the galaxy Messier 59 presents itself as a luminous, spherical shape. Cataloged by the famous comet hunter Charles Messier in 1779, it is included in his well-known collection of deep-space objects.

The Distorted NGC 3256

Located about 100 million light-years from Earth, the galaxy NGC 3256 exhibits a distinctive shape, shaped by a previous galactic merger. Hubble's WFC3 and ACS cameras capture the galaxy's intriguing, distorted form, highlighting the aftermath of its tumultuous history.

Spiral Galaxy NGC 2008

In this Hubble image, NGC 2008 dominates the scene, its ethereal spiral arms extending outward to form a delicate, glowing spiral shape in the vastness of space.

Galactic collision in Stephan’s Quintet

A captivating image of Stephan's Quintet, also called Hickson Compact Group 92, showcases galaxies at different stages of stellar evolution. Captured recently by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, the image highlights young blue stars alongside older red ones, illustrating the intricate consequences of this galactic collision.

Close Encounter of Spiral Galaxies

In the Canis Major constellation, two spiral galaxies move past each other, resembling ships crossing paths in the night. This near-collision was elegantly captured by Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2.

Cosmic Rose

To mark the 21st anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope, a breathtaking image of Arp 273, a pair of interacting galaxies, was unveiled. The two galaxies appear like a cosmic rose, with one seemingly encircling the other.

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