Galactic cosmic disaster - Hubble photographed two galaxies colliding 670 million light years from Earth

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured two merging galaxies under the common name Arp-Madore 417-391.

Here's What We Know

Hubble was able to take a picture of the two galaxies, which are located in the constellation Eridanus, 670 million light-years from our planet. They can be observed in the Earth's southern hemisphere.

Distorted by gravity, the galaxies are twisted into a large ring that brings their nuclei closer together. The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) was used to take the image. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) states that such structures are very rare. Their formation requires a direct collision of galaxies, rather than a slow convergence by gravity.

Note that the instrument, called ACS, has been useful for more than two decades, since the start of the space telescope. The instrument, which focuses on finding galaxies in the ancient Universe, has helped map the distribution of dark matter and study the evolution of galaxy clusters.

Source: NASA