By ESA/Hubble
April 17, 2022
Credit: ESA/Hubble & & NASA, W. Keel, Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt 2 combining galaxies in the VV689 system– nicknamed the Angel Wing– feature in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Unlike opportunity positionings of galaxies which only appear to overlap as seen from our vantage point in the world, the 2 galaxies in VV689 are in the middle of a collision. The galactic interaction has left the VV689 system nearly entirely in proportion, providing the impression of a huge set of galactic wings.
This is a larger field view of the image. Credit: ESA/Hubble & & NASA, W. Keel, Acknowledgement: J. Schmidt
In the process, volunteers discovered a rogues gallery of strange and wonderful galaxy types, some of which had actually not formerly been studied. A similar, ongoing project called Radio Galaxy Zoo is using the very same crowdsourcing approach to locate supermassive black holes in distant galaxies.
Noteworthy items from both projects were chosen for in-depth follow-up observations with Hubbles Advanced Camera for Surveys. In keeping with the crowdsourced nature of the Galaxy Zoo project, the targets for follow-up observations with Hubble were chosen through roughly 18,000 votes cast by the public. The picked targets include ring-shaped galaxies, uncommon spirals, and a striking selection of galaxy mergers such as VV689.