Hubble Telescope captures incredible image of two interacting galaxies; ESA calls it rare

The Hubble Space Telescope, which has been circling the Earth for the last three decades, has served as our cosmic eye to spot unbelievably far objects deep in interstellar space. The instrument, designed by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) has captured another such object which is the key to understanding how a galaxy evolves. Taking to Twitter, ESA released the picture with an explanation of the significance behind it.

The Hubble Telescope captures a rare 'cosmic draw'

In ESA's own words, this incredible three-dimensional-looking picture by Hubble shows two galaxies interacting with each other as if engaging in a 'cosmic draw'. The interaction captured by the telescope is considered significant as astronomers believe that the interaction of galaxies with one another is an important aspect of their evolution. According to ESA, the object seen in the picture is named Arp 282, which is an interacting galaxy pair composed of the Seyfert galaxy NGC 169, seen at the bottom, and the galaxy IC 1559 at the top. Both the individual galaxies are said to have monumentally energetic cores, known as active galactic nuclei (AGN), although they are not visible in the picture. 

However, the agency says that it turned out to be an advantage for Hubble as the full emission of two AGNs would have obscured the detailed tidal interactions occurring between the two galaxies. As for this picture, ESA explains that when two galaxies interact, the direction of the tidal forces is always away from the lower-mass object and towards the higher-mass object. In fact, these interactions can draw gas, dust and even entire solar systems from one galaxy towards the other by these tidal forces. Interestingly, that is what Hubble has captured in this picture, which shows delicate streams of matter being formed and appearing as a link between the two galaxies. Astronomers believe that galaxies merge, collide and even brush past one another, and each of these events has a significant impact on their shapes and structures.

"As common as these interactions are thought to be in the universe, it is rare to capture an image of two galaxies interacting in such a visibly dynamic way", ESA said in its report. 

Image: Twitter/@ESA