NASA Unveils Stunning New Images of the Arp 248 Galaxy Triplet in the Virgo Constellation, Approximately 200 Million Light-Years from Earth.
The image below, captured by the advanced survey camera of the Hubble Space Telescope, is part of a project surveying unusual galaxy clusters led by astronomers Halton Arp and Barry Madore.
Each cluster contains a variety of structures: single-armed or triple-armed spiral galaxies, shell-like galaxies, or interacting galaxy groups. The Arp 248 system is a prime example.
The Arp 248 galaxy triplet captured by the Hubble Telescope. (Photo: NASA/ESA)
This galaxy triplet is located in the Virgo constellation, about 200 million light-years from Earth. In the newly released image by NASA last week, Hubble is ideally positioned to observe all three galaxies in a single frame.
The image reveals 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 two galaxies come very close together. Both are influenced by each other’s strong gravitational pull, effectively tugging at one another like a game of tug-of-war.
Meanwhile, the third spiral galaxy is in the background and does not directly connect with the other two galaxies; it is over 10 million light-years away, according to AstroBin.
With the abundance of celestial objects and structures in the night sky, such survey projects will help identify “promising research targets” for future observations using the James Webb Space Telescope, the ALMA radio telescope network, and Hubble itself.