A stunning new image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope shows three galaxies heading towards collision and merger. Although galaxy collisions are quite common, they are rare as new stars are born in each of the three galaxies. Fly galaxiesvisible in the constellation Volopasawill eventually merge to form a large galaxy. In this process, the spiral structure of the galaxies currently on display will be destroyed by the gravitational interaction between the trio.

The image shows three galaxies, known collectively as SDSSCGB 10189, close enough to appear to be merging. The galaxies are already distorted and you can see the threads of gas and dust connecting them. Three galaxies emit a lot of light.

As the collision unfolds, the disconnected spiral galaxy on the left sits almost silently here, like the cosmic equivalent of a spectator “pulling” the more mundane collision occurring on the highway on our planet. Within SDSSCGB 10189, the three large star-forming galaxies are only 50,000. light years one from the other. While this may seem like a huge distance without a collision hazard, it is actually very close from a cosmic point of view. Example, Andromedaclosest to ours Milky Way Galaxy 2.5 million light-years away Sun.

new image Hubble Space Telescope It is part of a study into the origins of the largest and most massive galaxies in the universe, which astronomers refer to as the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs).

BCGs are formed when a large galaxy swallows smaller galaxies, or when gas-rich galaxies like this trio collide and merge. Such galaxy clusters can be used to monitor the formation of galaxy clusters, which are huge cosmic structures made up of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies. Scientists also hope they can provide clues about the so-called evolution of BCG.space web“, the entangled structure of formed clots and threads dark matterconnecting individual galaxies to clusters.

There is still debate about BCGs and when they formed in the 13.8 billion-year history of the universe. Some astronomers believe that these large, bright galaxies formed early in the universe, when the universe was 19% of its current age. Others believe that BCGs are still formed and developed today. The merger of SDSSCGB 10189 could give birth to a BCG, finally shedding light on the mystery of how and when these large, bright galaxies formed.