- NASA's Chandra and Hubble telescopes captured two colliding galaxies named Arp 302
- The galaxies are in early collision stages and will merge into one over millions of years
- Chandra detected a growing supermassive black hole hidden by dust in the top galaxy
NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and Hubble Space Telescope have combined forces to capture two colliding galaxies that together resemble a giant cosmic exclamation mark. Known to astronomers as Arp 302, the pair is in the early stages of a massive galactic collision. Over the next few million years, these two stellar systems will continue to pull on each other until they eventually merge into one single galaxy.
"Our @nasachandraxray and @nasahubble telescopes combined their data to make this image, which shows two galaxies in the early stages of interacting. From this angle, the galaxy pair looks like an exclamation mark!" NASA wrote.
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Data from both space telescopes revealed stunning details. Chandra's X-ray vision detected a rapidly growing supermassive black hole inside the top galaxy, the "stem" of the exclamation mark. This gravitational giant is heavily shrouded behind thick layers of space dust and gas.
While they are locked in the same gravitational dance, data from Hubble shows that the two galaxies are ageing and evolving at very different rates.
By combining Hubble's visible light images (showing blues, greens, and reds) with Chandra's purple X-ray data, scientists can look through cosmic dust to better understand how galaxies transform during such collisions.
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See the image here:
Social media reactions
The image mesmerised social media users. "Romance might just be gravity with patience. Millions of years, and still moving toward one another," one user wrote in the comment section.
"This is so beautiful! I love pictures of space so much! I love learning about our Vast Galaxy! I know there is more to be discovered out there! I just know it to be true!" said another user.
"To me, it looks like a magic wand paired with a heavenly rose! A perfect blend of wonder and beauty in the cosmos. Truly enchanting!" said a third user.
"It's truly so beautiful that I can't even find the words to describe it," another user wrote.
