NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures galaxies in 'cosmic collision'

Hubble Space Telescope images reveal a pair of overlapping galaxies, known as NGC 3314. However, the two galaxies seem to be colliding, but the distance between them is really 10 times the distance between our Milky Way and the neighbouring Andromeda galaxy. The alignment of the two galaxies, as viewed from Earth, provides a unique view of the silhouetted spiral arms in the nearby face-on spiral, NGC 3314A.

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The two galaxies' motions show that they are both relatively undisturbed and travelling in opposite directions. As a result, they are not in danger of colliding. Possibly because to an interaction with another galaxy, NGC 3312, NGC 3314A's bent form is expected to be distorted (located outside the Hubble image).

The dust lanes in NGC 3314B seem lighter than those in NGC 3314A because of the alignment. Rather than being devoid of dust, the dazzling cloud of stars in the foreground has a whitening effect on the galaxy's dust lanes. The stars in NGC 3314B, on the other hand, cast a shadow on the dust in NGC 3314A, making for a striking contrast.

Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys captured the blue and red light exposures used to create the colour composite. Near the constellation Hydra in the southern hemisphere, a pair of galaxies may be seen around 140 million light-years from Earth.