A very rare and beautiful appearance of two galaxies has made headlines again with the re-emergence of a photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on the social media platform X. The photo, recently posted by NASA, was actually taken in 2008.
The position of these galaxies is 650 million light years away and can be found in the constellation Sagittarius. This phenomenon involves NASA, the Hubble Space Telescope, distant galaxies, deep space, and a slow process involving gravity that is still happening today.
Viral bird illusion in space
The system is known as ESO 593-8 and is considered one of the most classic examples of galaxy interactions ever observed. Instead of a collision, the image captures a slow process of an encounter with a galaxy, which is the result of gravity. One galaxy resembles a feather as it passes through another.
This shape gives us the illusion that we are seeing a pair of wings floating in space. According to NASA, this phenomenon takes place over millions of years, giving us a slow-motion effect.
According to astronomers, the unusual shape seen in ESO 593-8 is due to a phenomenon known as tidal forces. These are forces that change the shape of galaxies when two galaxies are close to each other. According to NASA, star formation can occur when two galaxies are close to each other. It is expected that the two galaxies will eventually merge into a single galaxy.
The Hubble Space Telescope has taken many photos of space, but this photo stands out for its clarity. Even after many years since its ingestion, it continues to help us learn more about space.
