Hubble telescope sees an interacting galaxy system 200 million light-years away

The European Space Agency's Hubble Pictures of the Week features Arp-Madore 2105-332, an interacting galaxy system that lies about 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Microscopium.

This system is a member of the Arp-Madore catalogue of peculiar galaxies. The Hubble image also reveals several further galaxies, not associated with this system but fortuitously positioned in such a way that they appear to be forming a line that approaches the leftmost (in this image) component of Arp-Madore 2105-332, which is known individually as 2MASX J21080752-3314337. The rightmost galaxy, meanwhile, is known as 2MASX J21080362-3313196.

Both celestial bodies belong to the category of emission-line galaxies, revealing their energetic nature through characteristic bright peaks in their spectra. Emission lines are produced when gases are very hot and therefore have sufficient energy that the atoms and molecules are excited and emit light. Essentially, these galaxies serve as cosmic hotspots, suggestive of prolific star-forming regions within.

In addition to being an emission-line galaxy, Arp-Madore 2105-332 is also a peculiar galaxy.

"As with many galaxy types, categorising a galaxy as an emission-line galaxy does not exclude it from having other descriptions that refer to its other properties. Arp-Madore 2105-332, for example, is also a ‘peculiar’ galaxy, reflecting the atypical shapes of its two constituent galaxies," ESA wrote in a post.

Our ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week features the interacting galaxy system, Arp-Madore 2105-332, which lies 200 million light-years away in the constellation Microscopium 🔬✨. pic.twitter.com/dYduPog9kx

— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) December 11, 2023

The Hubble Space Telescope, a joint project involving NASA and ESA, is a powerful space-based observatory that has revolutionized our understanding of the universe. Since its launch in 1990, the observatory has provided breathtaking images and valuable data to help astronomers study distant galaxies, nebulae, and other cosmic phenomena. The mission has contributed to key scientific discoveries, ranging from the age of the universe to the existence of dark energy.