Despite its advanced age, the Hubble Space Telescope continues to provide a glimpse into the depth of the universe, documenting a delicate "bridge" of gas uniting two colliding galaxies inside the Arp 107 system — about 450 million light-years from Earth. To document the spectacular spectacle, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) used the Advanced Camera for Surveys for accurate measurement.
On the left side of the recently taken image is the Seyfert galaxy - a unique celestial entity characterized by an active galactic nucleus. Seifert galaxies are particularly intriguing because, despite the bright power of their active cores, radiation can be detected from the entire galaxy. This clarity and detail is evident in the image, where the patterns and arms of the entire galaxy can be clearly seen.
The smaller galaxy, located on the right side of the image, is a spiral galaxy. Spiral galaxies are the most common type of galaxy in the universe, and are characterized by spiral arms emerging from their centers. This galaxy appears slightly distorted, probably due to the collision with the larger galaxy.
A collision between galaxies is a violent event that can last hundreds of millions of years. During the collision, the gas and stars in the different galaxies collide with each other, forming new star birth zones. The collision also changes the shape of galaxies, sometimes even merging them into one larger galaxy.
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