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Spooky 'face' spotted in space by Hubble

By Ashley Strickland, CNN
October 28, 2019


This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures two galaxies of equal size in a collision that appears to resemble a ghostly face. This observation was made on 19 June 2019 in a visible light by the telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys.

(CNN)Although it looks a bit like an eerie, floating face suspended in space, the optical illusion spotted by the Hubble Space Telescope is really the result of two galaxies colliding.

Hubble took the image in June as part of its snapshot program, using gaps in its observation schedule to take photos of other intriguing targets.
The two glowing eyes of the face each represent the center of a galaxy. Young blue stars help make up the outline of the face, while other groupings of new stars seem to sketch out a mouth and nose.

Galaxies aren't the kindest of neighbors. They can crash into each other -- or one can cannibalize parts of another that comes too close.

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And because the galactic centers of each one seen in the image appear to be the same size, that means the galaxies were equal in proportion before they collided. Usually, larger galaxies cannibalize smaller galaxies.

Hubble's growing collection of images, those of including unusually interacting galaxies, can provide astronomers with information about how galaxies evolve. Hubble's observations can also help determine targets for future space telescopes, like the James Webb Space Telescope launching in 2021.

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