A recent picture from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured a striking image. In this image, it can be seen that three galaxies are on track to collide and merge together. The three galaxies are collectively named SDSSCGB 10189, and they are located in the Boötes constellation.
While it is not uncommon for galaxies to collide, each of these three galaxies is in the process of making new stars, making the event rare. The galaxies are only 50,000 light-years apart from each other, which may seem like a far distance until it is noted that the nearest galaxy, Andromeda, to our Milky Way galaxy is over 2.5 million light-years away from the sun; it is only a matter of time before these three galaxies collide and merge into one large galaxy.
This discovery may lead to bigger implications in our understanding of space, as the collision may result in the creation of a Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG). BCGs can be formed in cases like this when gas-rich galaxies collide and merge, or when a larger galaxy merges with a smaller one. Each galaxy within a cluster is connected by a tangled structure of clumps and filaments of material formed by dark matter, so if this collision results in a BCG, scientists can potentially learn more about how this interconnection happens. Whether this development happens or not, though, it will be interesting to see how these galaxies behave from the comfort of our Milky Way — which is far away from its nearest neighbor.
