Hubble telescope captures image of 'bridge' connecting two galaxies

NASA released a stunning new image of the triple galaxy Arp 248 in the constellation Virgo, about 200 million light-years from Earth.

The image below was taken by the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys as part of a survey of unusual galaxy clusters led by astronomers Halton Arp and Barry Madore.

Each collection contains a variety of: single-arm or triple-arm spiral galaxies, galaxies with shell-like structures, or interacting galaxy clusters. The Arp 248 system is a prime example .

The triple galaxy system Arp 248 as seen by the Hubble telescope. (Image: NASA/ESA)

This trio of galaxies lies in the constellation Virgo, about 200 million light-years from Earth. In a new image released by NASA last week, Hubble was in a prime position to see all three galaxies in the same frame.

The image shows that two of the three galaxies appear to be linked by a ' bridge of light' known as a tidal tail . This elongated stream of dust and stars forms when the two galaxies move very close to each other. Both are influenced by each other's intense gravitational pull, so they pull each other like a game of tug-of-war.

Meanwhile, the third spiral galaxy in the background is not directly connected to the other pair and is more than 10 million light-years away, according to AstroBin .

Given the richness of celestial objects and spatial structures in the night sky, survey projects like this will help identify 'promising research subjects' for future observations by the James Webb Space Telescope, the ALMA radio telescope network, and Hubble itself.