NASA shares mesmerizing photo of two galaxies taken by Hubble Telescope

NASA has just shared a photo taken by Hubble Telescope that features two galaxies together. Here’s the story behind it.

The striking photo from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is of two massive galaxies. (NASA)

Even as we wait for the James Webb Space Telescope to come online and start sending images of some of the earliest galaxies ever known to humanity, the older Hubble Telescope keeps sending mesmerising photos of the Universe that is holding everyone's attention. What is even more incredible is the fact that the Hubble Space Telescope has been circling around in Earth's orbit for over 30 years. And yet, the photos keep coming- earlier this month, NASA shared a photo of a three-galaxy combination, then there was of two galaxies appearing to 'dance' together and one that was quite strange, a 'galactic oddball'. And now, the Hubble Space Telescope just sent a striking image of a stunning pair of interacting galaxies somewhere in the depths of space.

The striking images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is of Arp 298 – which shows a stunning pair of galaxies- NGC 7469 and IC 5283. It is said to lie roughly 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. Among these two, the larger one is the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7469 while IC 5283 is its diminutive companion. The GC 7469 galaxy is actually host to an active, supermassive black hole and a bright ring of star clusters. Together, these two galaxies are known as Arp 298.

Story behind Arp name

The "Arp" in this galaxy pair's name denotes that they are listed in astronomer Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies is a collection of strange and spectacular galaxies with unusual structures, including galaxies with segmented spiral arms and concentric rings.

This shared image of Arp 298 comprises data from three different Hubble observation missions and includes many background galaxies. Arp 298 is captured in phenomenal detail in seven different filters from two of Hubble's sensors - the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys – by integrating their views.

Well, NASA confirms that this peculiar view of Arp 298 will even be better in future as this system will be one of the first galaxies observed with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope as part of the Director's Discretionary Early Release Science Programs in Summer 2022. Till then enjoy this mesmerizing photo of two galaxies together!