Stunning images have been released of a swirling, double-eyelid shape created by a massive mixture of stars and gases in a galaxy far from Earth.
According to a news release by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, this phenomenon occurred when the galaxy called IC 2163 “recently sideswiped another spiral galaxy dubbed NGC 2207.”
It goes on to quote one of the researchers and paper authors, Michele Kaufman, as saying, “Although galaxy collisions of this type are not uncommon, only a few galaxies with eye-like, or ocular, structures are known to exist.”
She also points out that such sightings are rare because “Galactic eyelids last only a few tens of millions of years, which is incredibly brief in the lifespan of a galaxy. Finding one in such a newly formed state gives us an exceptional opportunity to study what happens when one galaxy grazes another.”
The team believes that this contact could be the first of many between the two, leading to an eventual consolidation.
These galaxies are estimated to be about 114 million light-years from Earth, and they were observed using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array.
