Black holes
Quasar IRAS 13218+0552
November 19, 1996 · ESA/Hubble · IRAS 13218+0552 , QSO B1321+058
Hubble has captured evidence of a dance between two merging galaxies. The galaxies may have orbited each other several times before merging, leaving distinct loops of glowing gas around quasar IRAS13218+0552. The quasar is 2 billion light-years from Earth. The elongated core in the center of the image may comprise the two nuclei of the merging galaxies.
