NASA has published remarkable images online of 2 galaxies merging together, courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope.
The Hubble Space Telescope continues to be exceptionally beneficial in its work. Thanks to it, scientists have obtained an image of the early stages of a galactic merger. The photo definitely justifies the efforts.
The photographed galaxies are 350 million light years from Earth, located in the constellation Cetus. Before they become one uniform structure they're going to move closer to one another for several more million years.
The merging of galaxies isn't an unusual event in the Universe. A similar merger is going to occur between our own Milky Way and neighboring Andromeda after about 4 billion years.
The Hubble Space Telescope has turned out to be one of NASA's all-time best investments. Last year it snapped photos of the merger of 2 other galaxies, about 60 million light years away in the Leo constellation. They are so close to one another that they're influencing each other immensely. Their gravitational forces are bending them to near unrecognizability. That is why galaxies turn into unusual and unique shapes when merging.
The images from Hubble are spectacular. They consist of separate exposures taken by the telescope's camera and are sure to leave you speechless.
