Hubble Telescope captures massive ‘bridge of stars’ between two merging galaxies that could be our new home

New Delhi

Recently, NASA’s Hubble Telescope captured an image of a huge “bridge of stars” between two evolving galaxies 250,000 light-year-away from Earth. The image was shared by NASA on January 26 and shows two humungous galaxies growing into each other.

These two galaxies are named Arp 295a and 295c, which are part of a loose galactic grouping called Arp 295. This group is located 270 million light-years away from Earth in the direction of the constellation Aquarius.

As per scientists, this cosmic space could become our new galactic home after the collision of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies in 4 billion years. 

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Check out the full image here. 

Two huge evolving galaxies merge into one huge cosmic space

The hugely gorgeous stream of stars seen in the image between the two galaxies was created when two galaxies tried to merge towards each other with the gravitational interaction that ensues, drawing out gas, dust and stars.

When galaxies come close to each other so much that the strong gravitational pull between the two starts distorting their shapes, then they are known as interacting galaxies. 

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As per Space.com, this galactic interplay of galaxies approaching each other can last for billions of years as they loop around each other, making multiple close passages. Eventually, these close passages between interacting galaxies can result in the collision and merging of galaxies.

This interaction of galaxies tends to change their shape permanently, wiping out features such as spiral arms and creating a more homogenous, shapeless, irregular galaxy- which then looks like a stream of stars. The merger also causes an influx of gas into the resultant galaxy, which causes a bout of intense star formation called a starburst, as collapsing clouds of gas and dust are the building blocks of new stars. 

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As the merger continues, the two supermassive black holes with masses millions or billions of times that of the sun at the heart of the colliding galaxies head towards the centre of the newly created galaxies. 

As per these observations of merging galaxies, astronomers have hinted towards the fatal fate of the Milky Way and its neighbouring, Andromeda. 

(With inputs from agencies)