NASA finds 'battling galaxies' in deep space
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NASA has spotted "battling galaxies" in deep space, courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope.
The government agency posted a picture to its website of dueling galaxies in what it describes as a "titanic battle." The upper galaxy is known as UGC 1810, but combined with the other galaxies, it is collectively known as Arp 273.
"The overall shape of the UGC 1810 -- in particular its blue outer ring -- is likely a result of wild and violent gravitational interactions," NASA wrote on its website. "The blue color of the outer ring at the top is caused by massive stars that are blue hot and have formed only in the past few million years."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}(Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing & Copyright: Rudy Pohl)
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The space agency added that the inner part of UGC 1810 "appears redder and threaded with cool filamentary dust." The dueling galaxies are in the Andromeda constellation, approximately 300 million light-years away.
Eventually, UGC 1810 will "devour its galactic sidekicks over the next billion years and settle into a classic spiral form," NASA believes.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A titanic battle, indeed.