Galaxies
Intergalactic pipeline
January 9, 2001 · ESA/Hubble · IRAS 03386-0127 , NGC 1409 , NGC 1410 · Taurus
Zoom to full resolution See where it is in the 3D sky Original on ESA/Hubble ↗
This visible-light picture, taken by the Hubble telescope, reveals an intergalactic 'pipeline' of material flowing between two battered galaxies that bumped into each other about 100 million years ago. The pipeline [the dark string of matter] begins in NGC 1410 [the galaxy at left], crosses over 20, 000 light-years of intergalactic space, and wraps around NGC 1409 [the companion galaxy at right] like a ribbon around a package. The galaxies reside about 300 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Taurus.
