The galaxy deforms 100 million light-years from Earth

Galaxy NGC 3256 has a distorted shape due to the formation of a collision between two spiral galaxies.

The Hubble Space Telescope sent an image of NGC 3256, a galaxy the size of the Milky Way, Space reported on June 1. NGC 3256 is in the Vela constellation and is the result of a collision between two spiral galaxies that occurred about 500 million years ago.

When two galaxies merge, odd stars rarely collide because they are far apart. However, the gas and dust of the two galaxies will interact with each other and produce impressive results, according to the European Space Agency (ESA). NGC 3256's center of bright light shows that this is a galaxy with a powerful star explosion, where many new stars form.

Two colliding galaxies that make up NGC 3256 can carry the same mass because of their gravitational force equivalent, ESA said. The current shape of the galaxy is not permanently maintained. In the next few hundred million years, their core will merge and NGC 3256 will become a large elliptical galaxy.

Dear Hubble has helped astronomers understand more about the universe for decades. The telescope was launched into space in April 1990. However, a slight mistake made the first images it sent to blur. The astronauts overcame this problem in December 1993.