Space photo of the week: Hubble spies a spectacular galaxy crash

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Arp 107 hosts a special spiraling 'Seyfert' galaxy connected to a smaller galaxy by a 'bridge' of dust and gas.

Arp 107, a celestial object that comprises a pair of galaxies in the midst of a collision, with a Seyfert galaxy on the left.
Arp 107 comprises a pair of galaxies in the midst of a collision. (Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton)

What it is: Arp 107, a pair of galaxies mid-collision.

When it was taken: Sept. 18, 2023.

Where it is: 465 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo Minor. 

How to see it in the night sky: These galaxies are very difficult to see, even when Leo Minor is high in the sky over the Northern Hemisphere in spring. However, a similar-looking sight can be viewed in a good telescope by pointing it at M51, better known as the Whirlpool galaxy. Found between Alkaid at the end of the handle of the Big Dipper and the star Cor Caroli in the constellation Canes Venatici, the Whirlpool consists of one large spiral galaxy interacting with a dwarf galaxy right alongside it. They're 27 million light-years from the Milky Way but are a bright and easy sight for even a small telescope.

Jamie Carter
Jamie Carter
Live Science contributor

Jamie Carter is a Cardiff, U.K.-based freelance science journalist and a regular contributor to Live Science. He is the author of A Stargazing Program For Beginners and co-author of The Eclipse Effect, and leads international stargazing and eclipse-chasing tours. His work appears regularly in Space.com, Forbes, New Scientist, BBC Sky at Night, Sky & Telescope, and other major science and astronomy publications. He is also the editor of WhenIsTheNextEclipse.com.