WWW.FRONTPAGEDETECTIVES.COM / LATEST NEWS

NASA’s Hubble Telescope Captures ‘Spooky’ Face With Glowing Eyes 704 Million Light Years From Earth

Galaxies collide with each other in space, but this event was unique as it was a head-on impact resulting in a massive ring.

BY SOMDATTA MAITY

PUBLISHED 4 HOURS AGO

NGC 6050/IC 1179 (Arp 272) is a remarkable collision between two spiral galaxies (Representative Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by NASA)

The Hubble Space Telescope has been responsible for many stunning images from space. Some years ago, it surprised people when the telescope captured what many thought to be an intimidating face, stated NASA. Examinations soon revealed the reality of the phenomenon featuring what many thought to be piercing eyes.

AM 2026-424 (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons | Photo by Judy Schmidt)

Experts clarified that there is no menacing creature behind the glowing eyes, instead, it depicts a head-on collision between two galaxies. Each 'eye' represents the bright core of the galaxy that is involved in this collision. The outline of the 'face' in this visual is made up of a ring of young blue stars. Other collections of new stars form the 'nose' and 'mouth' of the arrangement. The phenomenon has been labelled Arp-Madore 2026-424 (AM 2026-424) by experts. It is a part of the Arp-Madore "Catalogue of Southern Peculiar Galaxies and Associations."

Galaxy collisions are a common phenomenon in space, especially in the early universe, according to Phys.org. However, this one stood apart because it was likely the result of a head-on impact. The clash has taken place 704 million light-years away from Earth. Researchers believe that the clash between two galaxies initially created a ring that did not look anything like the face captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. However, as time passed, the continuous interaction stretched the gas, discs, and stars present in the galaxies. Eventually, the constituents arranged themselves in such a way within the system AM 2026-424 that it looked like a face.

Systems like AM 2026-424 are called ring galaxies. Such arrangements are rare, and only a few hundred have been spotted in the Milky Way Galaxy. This is because both galaxies need to clash at exactly the right orientation to create the ring outline. Experts think that soon these galaxies will merge, leaving no trace of this violent encounter.

AM 2026-424 is also unique amongst ring galaxies because of the way the central bulges of the stars in the system have been juxtaposed. The bulges are arranged in such a way that they make the 'eyes' appear to be of the same size. Scientists believe the reason such a juxtaposition happens is because the involved galaxies are around the same size. In other clashes, the smaller galaxies are usually absorbed by the larger ones, and therefore do not create the stupefying visual.

Hubble captured the Arp-Madore 2026-424 (AM 2026-424) on 19 June 2019, during the 'snapshot' programme. Astronomers used the telescope's advanced cameras for the examination. In this programme, experts use the telescope during the gaps in its observing schedule to capture interesting developments in space. Experts wanted to further use the telescope to create a picture database featuring the interactions of different galaxies.

Another smiling face was observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope, according to NASA. The face is a consequence of a clash between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy. The phenomenon appears to have two bright eyes and a wide smile. It is collectively known as Arp 107. Initially captured in 2005, it was again clicked in 2024 for an in-depth analysis.