When Galaxies Collide: Middle Merger

The galaxies seen here are caught mid-merger.

The bodies of the two parent galaxies have more or less fused but two independent central nuclei can still be seen in the image.

The collision is thought to have begun approximately 300 million years ago.

This object, known as NGC 520, is one of the brightest galaxy pairs on the sky, and is located about 100 million light-years away toward the constellation Pisces.

Image: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and B. Whitmore (STScI)