NASA images: These 6 Hubble telescope photos show what happens when two galaxies clash

Planets, stars, and galaxies are some of the exciting terms that have been mentioned in our science books for years. Regardless of the spectacular information and stories behind the formation, it is their images that fuel our curiosity towards the world of space and beyond. Most images of distant planets, galaxies and nebulas we see on social media and TV channels are captured by high-power devices like Hubble and James Webb telescopes in space. Get a glimpse of the universe captured by NASA's Hubble space telescope.

Interacting galaxies

It is difficult to stay alone in this vast universe, so is the case with humungous galaxies, which continue to interact with each other. According to the Swinburne University of Technology, an interacting galaxy is in the process of being affected by another galaxy. Two interacting galaxies are often called “colliding galaxies”, and can be informally imagined as two galaxies clashing with each other.

5 photos by NASA Hubble Space telescope of interacting galaxies

UGC 3912 is a spiral galaxy whose distorted shape results from a gravitational encounter with another galaxy. According to NASA, when galaxies interact, either brush up against each other's gravitational fields or even collide, their stars, dust, and gas can be pulled into new paths. UGC 3912 might have once been an organized-looking spiral, but it looks like it’s been smudged out of shape by a giant thumb.

The striking image captures the essence of the cordial relation between two galaxies. The friendly pair is known as Arp-Madore 2339-661. The two have been named so because they belong to the Arp-Madore catalogue of peculiar galaxies. However, this particular peculiarity might be even odder than first meets the eye, as there are in fact three galaxies interacting here, not just two.

The image captures the interaction between three galaxies: NGC 7733 (smaller, lower right), NGC 7734 (larger, upper left), NGC 7733N, and can actually be spotted in this picture if you look carefully at the upper arm of NGC 7733.

The attractive triangle shape is the result of a head-on collision between two galaxies. The interacting galaxy duo is collectively called Arp 143. The pair contains the glittery, distorted, star-forming spiral galaxy NGC 2445 at right, along with its less flashy companion, NGC 2444 at left.

The galactic triplet ARP 248 features three galaxies which are located around 200 million light-years from Earth in the Virgo constellation. The two large spiral galaxies visible in this image — which flank a smaller, unrelated background spiral galaxy — seem to be connected by a luminous bridge. 

The NASA image captures the impact of three-way gravitational pull on the two galaxies of system ARP 195. The system features the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies.

The Antennae Galaxies is a merging pair of galaxies located around 62 million light-years from Earth. The name of these two galaxies is the result of their appearance, which is similar to antenna-like tails.