Hubble
Interacting Galaxy ESO 239-2
Interacting Galaxies
: RA 22hr 49m 40.13s Dec -48° 50' 56.0"
Grus
550 million light-years (150 million parsecs)
ACS/WFC
May 3, 2006 and July 16, 2006
49 minutes
F435W (B) and F814W (I)
NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration & A. Evans (U of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
April 24, 2008
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the image to buy a print
ABOUT THIS IMAGE:
ESO 239-2 is most likely the result of a cosmic collision or a lengthy merger process that will eventually result in an elliptical galaxy. The messy intermediate stage, captured here, is a galaxy with long, tangled tidal tails that envelope the galaxy's core.
This
image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken
by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th
anniversary on 24th April 2008.