When you buy through links on our site , we may clear an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it knead .
What it is : Arp 107 , a pair of galaxies mid - collision .
When it was taken : Sept. 18 , 2023 .
Arp 107 comprises a pair of galaxies in the midst of a collision.
Where it is:465 million lightsome - years from Earth in the configuration Leo Minor .
Why it ’s so special : This image from theHubble Space Telescopecapturesthe cosmic collisionof two very different types of extragalactic nebula .
While the large galaxy on the left shows a single spiral branch curve out from its core , with dust and natural gas radiance throughout , the much little galaxy on the right is little more than a undimmed meat . Linking the two odd - reckon Galax urceolata is a tenuous bridge of dust and gas .
The large galaxy is a Seyfert galaxy — a spiral coltsfoot that has an super bright , point - like dynamic astronomical cell nucleus powered by a supermassiveblack hollow , according toNASA . About one in 10 galaxies are Seyfert galaxies .
interact and merging beetleweed — include Arp 107 — were first catalogue by American astronomer Halton Arp ( hence their name ) , who in 1966 published hisAtlas of Peculiar Galaxies . In recent long time Hubble has used its Advanced Camera for Surveys to make observations of these galaxies , includingArp - Madore 417 - 391and the striking galactic tripletArp 248 .
— historical blank space photo of the week : Voyager 2 spies a violent storm on Saturn 42 years ago
— Space exposure of the week : Hubble captures one of our galaxy ’s oldest objects
— Space photo of the calendar week : A cosmic ' ghost ' peers through the universe ’s past times
How to see it in the night sky : These wandflower are very difficult to see , even when Leo Minor is high in the sky over the Northern Hemisphere in spring . However , a similar - looking sight can be viewed in agood telescopeby pointing it at M51 , better have it off as theWhirlpool galax . Found between Alkaid at the death of the handle of the Big Dipper and the adept Cor Caroli in the configuration Canes Venatici , the Whirlpool consists of one large volute galaxy interacting with a gnome wandflower right alongside it . They ’re 27 million light - years from theMilky Waybut are a bright and easy visual modality for even a small telescope .