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  1. Apocalypse When? Hubble Casts Doubt on Certainty of Galactic Collision

    June 02, 2025Release ID: 2025-017 Missions: Hubble

    A Possible Near Miss Between Our Galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy

    A three-panel image, two at the top and one stretched across the bottom. At the top of the image is the title “Three Future Scenarios for Milky Way and Andromeda Encounter.” This title is extended over all three panels. In the top left panel, two spiral galaxies are widely separated against the black background of space. Beneath these galaxies are the words “Galaxies bypass at 1 million light-year separation.” In the top right panel, two face-on spiral galaxies are close together. Their spiral arms appear stretched toward each other. At the bottom of this panel are the words “At 500,000 light-years, dark matter provides friction that brings galaxies to a close encounter.” In the bottom panel, two spiral galaxies have collided, resulting in a broad X-shaped patch of milky white. Mottled clouds of dark brown dust are superimposed. At the bottom of this panel are the words “A 100,000 light-year separation leads to a collision.”

  2. 'Blood-Soaked' Eyes: NASA's Webb, Hubble Examine Galaxy Pair

    October 31, 2024Release ID: 2024-136 Missions: Webb, Hubble, STScI

    By teaming up, these two space telescopes have delivered the highest resolution image of IC 2163 and NGC 2207 to date in a combination of mid-infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light.

    Two spiral galaxies take up almost the entire view and appear to be overlapping. The galaxy at left, IC 2163, is smaller and more compact than the galaxy at right, NGC 2207. The black background of space is dotted with foreground stars and extremely distant galaxies.

  3. NASA's Webb Provides Another Look Into Galactic Collisions

    September 18, 2024Release ID: 2024-132 Missions: Webb

    New infrared image highlights star formation triggered by merger-in-progress

    A pair of interacting galaxies. The larger of the two galaxies is slightly right of center, and composed of a hazy, bright, white center and a ring of gaseous filaments, which are different shades of red and orange. Toward the bottom left and bottom right of the ring are filaments of gas spiraling inward toward the core. At the top left of the ring is a noticeable gap, bordered by two large, orange pockets of dust and gas. The smaller galaxy to its left is made of hazy white gas and dust, which becomes more diffuse farther away from its center. To this galaxy's bottom left, there is a smaller, more diffuse gas cloud that wafts outward toward the edges. Many red, orange, and white galaxies are spread throughout, with some hazier in composition and others having more defined spiral patterns.

  4. Vivid Portrait of Interacting Galaxies Marks Webb's Second Anniversary

    July 12, 2024Release ID: 2024-124 Missions: Webb

    NASA's James Webb Space Telescope shows off a pair of intertwined galaxies in infrared light, its latest release in an ongoing run of observations.

    Two interacting galaxies known as Arp 142. At left is NGC 2937, nicknamed the Egg for its appearance. At right is NGC 2936, nicknamed the Penguin for its appearance. The latter's beak-like region points toward and above the Egg.

  5. NASA's Hubble Traces 'String of Pearls' Star Clusters in Galaxy Collisions

    February 08, 2024Release ID: 2024-004 Missions: Hubble

    Long Trail of Clumpy Stars Follows Galaxy Interactions

    This is a picture of a galaxy with a peculiar S-shape. It has a bright milky-white core at the center. Twin arms of blue stars wrap around the core. One arm looks particularly stretched out due to the gravitational tidal pull of a neighboring galaxy. Bright, young, whitish star clusters are strung along the arm like a string of pearls. They formed as a result of the collision process.

  6. Webb Captures the Spectacular Galactic Merger Arp 220

    April 17, 2023Release ID: 2023-116 Missions: Webb

    A Dazzling Display of Star Birth Captured in Infrared

    Two spiral galaxies in the process of merging, Arp 220 glows brightest in infrared light, making it an ideal target for Webb.

  7. Webb Captures Stellar Gymnastics in the Cartwheel Galaxy

    August 02, 2022Release ID: 2022-039 Missions: Webb

    Webb’s Instruments Reveal New Details About Star Formation

    Colorful near- and mid-infrared image of a large ring-shaped galaxy with two smaller spiral companion galaxies, all seen face-on, with a background of much smaller, more distant galaxies of various colors, shapes, and sizes.

  8. NASA’s Webb Sheds Light on Galaxy Evolution, Black Holes

    July 12, 2022Release ID: 2022-034 Missions: Webb

    The close proximity of Stephan’s Quintet gives astronomers a ringside seat to galactic mergers and interactions

    Colorful image of the near- and mid-infrared light of a group of galaxies, with hundreds of background galaxies and numerous foreground stars.

  9. Celebrating Hubble's 32nd Birthday with an Eclectic Galaxy Grouping

    April 19, 2022Release ID: 2022-012 Missions: Hubble

    The isolated menagerie of five galaxies is caught in a gravitational dance.

    Grouping of 5 near galaxies with a myriad of small background galaxies

  10. Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys Celebrates 20 Years of Discovery

    March 07, 2022Release ID: 2022-013 Missions: Hubble

    The ACS continues to deliver ground-breaking science.

    Collage of nebulae, stars, galaxy field, and a gaseous planet

  11. Galaxy Collision Creates 'Space Triangle' in New Hubble Image

    February 22, 2022Release ID: 2022-010 Missions: Hubble

    Interactions Between These Two Galaxies Is Creating a Tsunami of Starbirth

    Galaxy pair Arp 143 contains distorted star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445 (right) and less flashy companion NGC 2444 (left)

  12. First Images from Rebooted Hubble: Astronomers Peer at Oddball Galaxies

    July 19, 2021Release ID: 2021-045 Missions: Hubble

    These two peculiar galaxies are part of a program to survey oddball galaxies scattered across the sky.

    Snapshot of Interacting and Spiral Galaxies

  13. Lopsided Galaxy NGC 2276

    May 27, 2021Release ID: 2021-029 Missions: Hubble

    Magnificent Spiral Galaxy is Being Stretched by Gravity from Bypassing Neighbor

    On a black, starry background is a large spiral galaxy filled with streaks of blue and pink. Its right-side arm appears to be breaking away from the rest of the galaxy.

  14. Hubble Finds "Greater Pumpkin" Galaxy Pair

    October 29, 2020Release ID: 2020-32 Missions: Hubble

    Colliding Galaxies Give a Creepy Look

    Interacting galaxies NGC 2292 and NGC 2293

  15. NASA's Webb Telescope Will Explore the Cores of Merging Galaxies

    September 23, 2020Release ID: 2020-49 Missions: Webb

    Researchers will study four nearby merging galaxies in unprecedented detail.

    NGC 3256, a pair of interacting galaxies with a large egg-like shape. Brown-red dust is mixed throughout the center, and two uneven light-blue “arms” extend down from the middle.

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