The “pumpkins” glowing “eyes” are the bright, star-filled cores of each galaxy that include supermassive black holes. The 2 galaxies, cataloged as NGC 2292 and NGC 2293, are situated about 120 million light-years away in the constellation Canis Major.
What looks like 2 radiant eyes and a crooked sculpted smile in this brand-new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope snapshot is the early phases of a crash between 2 galaxies. Residing in the constellation Canis Major, the whole view is 109,000 light-years across, around the diameter of our Milky Way.
The general pumpkin-ish color corresponds to the glow of aging red stars in 2 galaxies, cataloged as NGC 2292 and NGC 2293, which only have a tip of spiral structure.
The ghostly arm making the “smile” may be just the start of the process of restoring a spiral galaxy, state researchers. The arm accepts both galaxies. It most likely formed when interstellar gas was compressed as the 2 galaxies started to merge. The greater density precipitates brand-new star development.
By ESA/Hubble
October 30, 2021
