Atoms-for-Peace: a galactic collision in action*

This new image shows the results of a vast collision between two galaxies. This strange object is known as NGC 7252, or Arp 226, and has the odd nickname Atoms-for-Peace. The picture was taken by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. It is a combination of exposures taken through blue and red filters, for a total exposure time of more than four hours. The field of view is about 18 arcminutes across.

This image is available as a mounted image in the ESOshop.