Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
This charming and bright galaxy, known as IRAS 23436+5257, was
captured by the the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. It is located in
the northern constellation of Cassiopeia, which is named after an
arrogant, vain, and yet beautiful mythical queen.
The twisted, wormlike structure of this galaxy is most likely the
result of a collision and subsequent merger of two galaxies. Such
interactions are quite common in the Universe, and they can range from
minor interactions involving a satellite galaxy being caught by a
spiral arm, to major galactic crashes. Friction between the gas and
dust during a collision can have a major effect on the galaxies
involved, morphing the shape of the original galaxies and creating
interesting new structures.
When you look up at the calm and quiet night sky it is not always
easy to picture it as a dynamic and vibrant environment with entire
galaxies in motion, spinning like children’s toys and crashing into
whatever crosses their path. The motions are, of course, extremely
slow, and occur over millions or even billions of years.
The aftermath of these galactic collisions helps scientists to
understand how these movements occur and what may be in store for our
own Milky Way, which is on a collision course with a neighbouring
galaxy, Messier 31.
A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures
image processing competition by contestant Judy Schmidt. Hidden
Treasures was an initiative to invite astronomy enthusiasts to search
the Hubble archive for stunning images that have never been seen by the
general public. The competition has now closed and the results are
published here.
