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What it is : NGC 7727 , the Byzantine aftermath of two spiral galaxies colliding .

When it was taken : Oct. 25 , 2023 .

Gemini South has captured the billion-year-old aftermath of a double spiral galaxy collision.

Gemini South has captured the billion-year-old aftermath of a double spiral galaxy collision.

Where it is : Between 73 million and 90 million light - years aside in the configuration Aquarius .

Where it was taken : Cerro Pachón tidy sum in Chile

Why it ’s so special : The persona not only depict the ultimate destiny of ourMilky Way galaxybut also hide the closest pair of supermassiveblack holesto Earth ever recorded .

A photo of a spiral galaxy

The image , which was captured by theInternational Gemini Observatoryand is also available as azoomableversion , evidence bands of interstellar dust and accelerator pedal . It ’s the mussy backwash of two spiral galaxies jar about a billion eld ago .

Spiral galaxy have wrench arms full of stars that make them front like gargantuan rotating Aeonium haworthii . When they merge , they form chaotic elliptical galaxy , which astronomers predict is happening now to NGC 7727 . All elliptical galaxies are thought to originate from collisions and merger with spirals , according toNASA .

Related : Supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way is approaching the cosmic speed limit , dragging blank - time along with it

An image of the Milky Way captured by the MeerKAT radio telescope. At the center of the MeerKAT image the region surrounding the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole blazes bright. Huge vertical filamentary structures echo those captured on a smaller scale by Webb in Sagittarius C’s blue-green hydrogen cloud.

What makes NGC 7727 particularly interesting is what ’s happening to the nuclei of the two formerly separate galaxies . Inside each is a supermassive black maw , agree to researchpublishedin 2021 . At just 1,600 light - years aside , their gravitative tug - of - war is the cause of the chaotic pot of virtuoso and nebulas scatter across NGC 7727 .

However , these supermassive black holes are not equally matched . One is 6.3 million multiplication the volume of the sunlight , and the other is as monumental as 154 million sunshine . Scientists think the two monsters will coalesce in about 250 million age , producing gravitative wafture , or ripples across blank space - timefirst observe in 2015 .

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An image of a spiral galaxy

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NGC 7727 is a snapshot of the hereafter for ourMilky Waygalaxy , which will gradually merge with the Andromeda Galax urceolata ( M31 ) in about4 billion class . The image of NGC 7727 was taken by Gemini South , a 26 - metrical unit - wide ( 8.1 meters ) ocular / infrared scope in the foothill of the Andes that is engage by the National Science Foundation ’s NOIRLab . It has an monovular twin , Gemini North , atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii . Together , they cover the entire night sky from their respective hemispheres .

A bright red arc of light seen against greyish red clouds in space. hundreds of stars dot the background

a deep field image of thousands of galaxies

NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features part of the Small Magellanic Cloud.

An illustration of a black hole with light erupting from it

A lot of galaxies are seen as bright spots on a dark background. Toward the left, the JWST is shown in an illustration.

A close-up view of a barred spiral galaxy. Two spiral arms reach horizontally away from the core in the centre, merging into a broad network of gas and dust which fills the image. This material glows brightest orange along the path of the arms, and is darker red across the rest of the galaxy. Through many gaps in the dust, countless tiny stars can be seen, most densely around the core.

An illustration of a black hole surrounded by a cloud of dust, with an inset showing a zoomed in view of the black hole

An illustration of a black hole with a small round object approaching it, causing a burst of energy

Tunnel view of Yosemite National Park.

A scuba diver descends down a deep ocean reef wall into the abyss.

Remains of the Heroon, a small temple built for the burial cluster of Philip II at the Museum of the Royal Tombs inside the Great Tumulus of Aigai (Aegae)

An artist�s illustration of a satellite crashing back to Earth.

Reconstruction of an early Cretaceous landscape in what is now southern Australia.

A photo of the Large Hadron Collider�s ALICE detector.