結合する銀河のこの荘厳な画像の中で、2つが1つになる。
2015年12月、この壮観な光景がハッブル宇宙望遠鏡で捉えられた。
この写真は、地球からおよそ2.3億光年離れた地点にある、ヘルクレス座で形成される過程の銀河「NGC 6052」を示している。
欧州宇宙機関（ESA）によれば、天文学者たちは最初、銀河を「単一異常」の銀河として分類していたようだが、今では一体となりつつある1組の恒星系であることが確認されている。
画像では混沌として見えるこの新しい銀河も、最終的に新しい形に落ち着くことになるだろう、と科学者グループは語った。
「2つの銀河が重力に引きつけられて、徐々に近づいていき、やがて衝突するのです」と、欧州宇宙機関（ESA）がアメリカ航空宇宙局（NASA）のウェブサイト上で明らかにした。「それら2つの銀河が今、ひとつに融合していく瞬間に私たちは立ち会っているのです」。
「銀河が融合する際の衝突によって、個々の星が元の軌道から放り出されてしまっているため、この画像では「混沌として」見えるのです」と声明の中で言及した。
「最終的に、この新しい銀河は安定し、なんらかの形に落ち着くことになるでしょう。そうしてできた銀河は、元の2つの銀河からは想像もできない形になっている可能性があります」。
Space.com によれば、銀河の融合は一般的なことで、私たちのいる「天の川銀河」とアンドロメダ銀河も、40億年の時をかけ融合をはじめている。
ハッブル宇宙望遠鏡は、現代天文学の偉大なパイオニアの1人であるエドウィン・パウエル・ハッブルの名をとって命名され、スペースシャトル・ディスカバリーと共に、1990年に打ち上げられた。
アメリカ航空宇宙局（NASA）／欧州宇宙機関（ESA）共同プロジェクトにより撮影された最初の画像は、カメラのミラーが不完全だったため、ぼやけていたが、1993年、宇宙遊泳する宇宙飛行士がこの問題を修正して以来、この望遠鏡は何百枚もの研究画像を地球に送り続けている。
この記事はハフポストUS版に掲載されたものを翻訳しました。
【関連記事】
ハフィントンポスト日本版はTwitterでも情報発信しています。@HuffPostJapan をフォロー
関連記事
ハッブル宇宙望遠鏡がとらえた宇宙
Galaxy NGC 3079, located 50 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major, has a huge bubble of gas in the center of its disc. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(01 of36)
Galaxy NGC 3079, located 50 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major, has a huge bubble of gas in the center of its disc. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The many sides of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Located 10,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia, Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a once massive star that died in a violen(02 of36)
The many sides of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Located 10,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia, Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a once massive star that died in a violent supernova explosion 325 years ago. Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Spitzer Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
A pair of small moons orbiting pluto discovered by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope: Nix and Hydra are roughly 5,000 times fainter than Pluto and are about two to three times farther from Pluto than its (03 of36)
A pair of small moons orbiting pluto discovered by NASA\'s Hubble Space Telescope: Nix and Hydra are roughly 5,000 times fainter than Pluto and are about two to three times farther from Pluto than its large moon, Charon. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
A panoramic view of a vast, sculpted area of gas and dust where thousands of stars are being born in the Doradus Nebula. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(04 of36)
A panoramic view of a vast, sculpted area of gas and dust where thousands of stars are being born in the Doradus Nebula. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
A panoramic view of a vast, sculpted area of gas and dust where thousands of stars are being born in the Doradus Nebula. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(05 of36)
A panoramic view of a vast, sculpted area of gas and dust where thousands of stars are being born in the Doradus Nebula. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The galaxy NGC 3310. It is one of several starburst galaxies, which are hotbeds of star formation. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(06 of36)
The galaxy NGC 3310. It is one of several starburst galaxies, which are hotbeds of star formation. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The spiral arms and dust clouds in the nearby Whirlpool galaxy. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (07 of36)
The spiral arms and dust clouds in the nearby Whirlpool galaxy. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The spiral arms and dust clouds in the nearby Whirlpool galaxy. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(08 of36)
The spiral arms and dust clouds in the nearby Whirlpool galaxy. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 met and began a sort of gravitational tango about 40 million years ago. The two galaxies are tugging at each other, stimulating new stars to form. Eventually, this cosmic ball wil(09 of36)
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 met and began a sort of gravitational tango about 40 million years ago. The two galaxies are tugging at each other, stimulating new stars to form. Eventually, this cosmic ball will come to an end, when the galaxies meld into one. The dancing duo is located 140 million light-years away in the Canis Major constellation. Hubble Space Telescope (HST),Spitzer Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The spiral galaxy known as Messier 81, or M81. GALEX Orbiter,Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope.(10 of36)
The spiral galaxy known as Messier 81, or M81. GALEX Orbiter,Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The spiral galaxy known as Messier 81, or M81. GALEX Orbiter,Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope.(11 of36)
The spiral galaxy known as Messier 81, or M81. GALEX Orbiter,Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
New View Of The Tarantula Nebula(12 of36)
UNSPECIFIED, APRIL 23: A new view of the Tarantula Nebula on April 23, 2012. To celebrate its 22nd anniversary in orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope released a dramatic new image of the star-forming region 30 Doradus, also known as the Tarantula Nebula because its glowing filaments resemble spider legs. A new image from all three of NASA\'s Great Observatories--Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer--has also been created to mark the event. The nebula is located in the neighboring galaxy called the Large Magellanic Cloud, and is one of the largest star-forming regions located close to the Milky Way. At the center of 30 Doradus, thousands of massive stars are blowing off material and producing intense radiation along with powerful winds. The Chandra X-ray Observatory detects gas that has been heated to millions of degrees by these stellar winds and also by supernova explosions. These X-rays, colored blue in this composite image, come from shock fronts--similar to sonic booms--formed by this high-energy stellar activity. The Hubble data in the composite image, colored green, reveals the light from these massive stars along with different stages of star birth, including embryonic stars a few thousand years old still wrapped in cocoons of dark gas. Infrared emission data from Spitzer, seen in red, shows cooler gas and dust that have giant bubbles carved into them. These bubbles are sculpted by the same searing radiation and strong winds that comes from the massive stars at the center of 30 Doradus. PHOTOGRAPH BY Barcroft Media /Barcoft Media via Getty Images (credit:Barcroft Media via Getty Images)
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the distribution of dark matter in the center of the giant galaxy cluster Abell 1689, containing about 1,000 galaxies and trillions of stars.(13 of36)
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the distribution of dark matter in the center of the giant galaxy cluster Abell 1689, containing about 1,000 galaxies and trillions of stars. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
This composite of 30 Doradus, aka the Tarantula Nebula, contains data from Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Tarantula Nebula is one of the largest star-forming (14 of36)
This composite of 30 Doradus, aka the Tarantula Nebula, contains data from Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Tarantula Nebula is one of the largest star-forming regions close to the Milky Way. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra.(15 of36)
The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The Antennae galaxies, located about 62 million light-years from Earth, are shown in this composite image. The collision, which began more than 100 million years ago and is still occurring, has trigge(16 of36)
The Antennae galaxies, located about 62 million light-years from Earth, are shown in this composite image. The collision, which began more than 100 million years ago and is still occurring, has triggered the formation of millions of stars in clouds of dusts and gas in the galaxies. Hubble and Spitzer. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The Antennae galaxies, located about 62 million light-years from Earth, are shown in this composite image. The collision, which began more than 100 million years ago and is still occurring, has trigge(17 of36)
The Antennae galaxies, located about 62 million light-years from Earth, are shown in this composite image. The collision, which began more than 100 million years ago and is still occurring, has triggered the formation of millions of stars in clouds of dusts and gas in the galaxies. Hubble and Spitzer. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra.(18 of36)
The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra.(19 of36)
The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra.(20 of36)
The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The Eagle nebula, an industrious star-making factory located 7,000 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image shows the region's entire network of turbulent clouds and newborn stars in i(21 of36)
The Eagle nebula, an industrious star-making factory located 7,000 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image shows the region\'s entire network of turbulent clouds and newborn stars in infrared light. Hubble Space Telescope (HST),Spitzer Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star's remaining core. Ultraviolet light from the dying star makes the material glow. The burned-ou(22 of36)
The star is ending its life by casting off its outer layers of gas, which formed a cocoon around the star\'s remaining core. Ultraviolet light from the dying star makes the material glow. The burned-out star, called a white dwarf, is the white dot in the center. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The Eagle nebula, an industrious star-making factory located 7,000 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image shows the region's entire network of turbulent clouds and newborn stars in i(23 of36)
The Eagle nebula, an industrious star-making factory located 7,000 light-years away in the Serpens constellation. The image shows the region\'s entire network of turbulent clouds and newborn stars in infrared light. Hubble Space Telescope (HST),Spitzer Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 sits next to the nebula N76 in a bright, star-forming region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy located about 200,000 light-y(24 of36)
The supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 sits next to the nebula N76 in a bright, star-forming region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy located about 200,000 light-years from Earth. Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope,Chandra X-ray Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 met and began a sort of gravitational tango about 40 million years ago. The two galaxies are tugging at each other, stimulating new stars to form. Eventually, this cosmic ball wil(25 of36)
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 met and began a sort of gravitational tango about 40 million years ago. The two galaxies are tugging at each other, stimulating new stars to form. Eventually, this cosmic ball will come to an end, when the galaxies meld into one. The dancing duo is located 140 million light-years away in the Canis Major constellation. Hubble Space Telescope (HST),Spitzer Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
NGC 2080, nicknamed "The Ghost Head Nebula," is one of a chain of star-forming regions lying south of the 30 Doradus nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(26 of36)
NGC 2080, nicknamed \'The Ghost Head Nebula,\' is one of a chain of star-forming regions lying south of the 30 Doradus nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 sits next to the nebula N76 in a bright, star-forming region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy located about 200,000 light-y(27 of36)
The supernova remnant 1E0102.2-7219 sits next to the nebula N76 in a bright, star-forming region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy located about 200,000 light-years from Earth. Hubble Space Telescope,Spitzer Space Telescope,Chandra X-ray Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The galaxy NGC 3310. It is one of several starburst galaxies, which are hotbeds of star formation. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(28 of36)
The galaxy NGC 3310. It is one of several starburst galaxies, which are hotbeds of star formation. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
Named for the crescent-shaped wave a ship makes as it moves through water, a bow shock can form in space when two gas streams collide. In this case, the young star, LL Ori, emits a vigorous wind, a st(29 of36)
Named for the crescent-shaped wave a ship makes as it moves through water, a bow shock can form in space when two gas streams collide. In this case, the young star, LL Ori, emits a vigorous wind, a stream of charged particles moving rapidly outward from the star. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
Six hundred and fifty light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, a dead star about the size of Earth, is refusing to fade away peacefully. In death, it is spewing out massive amounts of hot gas a(30 of36)
Six hundred and fifty light-years away in the constellation Aquarius, a dead star about the size of Earth, is refusing to fade away peacefully. In death, it is spewing out massive amounts of hot gas and intense ultraviolet radiation, creating a spectacular object called a \'planetary nebula.\' Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Spitzer Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
This false-color composite image shows the Cartwheel galaxy. Hubble Space Telescope.(31 of36)
This false-color composite image shows the Cartwheel galaxy. Hubble Space Telescope. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
A panoramic view of a vast, sculpted area of gas and dust where thousands of stars are being born in the Doradus Nebula. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(32 of36)
A panoramic view of a vast, sculpted area of gas and dust where thousands of stars are being born in the Doradus Nebula. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The Ant Nebula, whose technical name is Mz3, located between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth in the southern constellation Norma. Hubble Space Telescope (HST).(33 of36)
The Ant Nebula, whose technical name is Mz3, located between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth in the southern constellation Norma. Hubble Space Telescope (HST). (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
The spiral galaxy Messier 101, from composite of views from Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra.(34 of36)
The spiral galaxy Messier 101, from composite of views from Spitzer, Hubble, and Chandra. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
This composite of 30 Doradus, aka the Tarantula Nebula, contains data from Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Tarantula Nebula is one of the largest star-forming (35 of36)
This composite of 30 Doradus, aka the Tarantula Nebula, contains data from Chandra, Hubble, and Spitzer. Located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Tarantula Nebula is one of the largest star-forming regions close to the Milky Way. (Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images) (credit:Universal History Archive via Getty Images)
Window-Curtain Structure of the Orion Nebula Revealed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope(36 of36)
UNITED STATES - JULY 18: Recent images made with the Wide Field Camera on NASA\'s Hubble Space Telescope have revealed the structure of a thin sheet of gas located at the edge of the famous Great Nebula in Orion, an estimated 1500 light years from Earth. Astronomers, who compare the appearance of this sheet of gas with that of a rippled window curtain, report that this emission traces the boundary between the hot, diffuse interior of the nebula and an adjacent dense cool cloud. The sheet is seen in light emitted by atoms of gaseous sulfur (shown in red in the photograph). This emission is strongest under conditions which are intermediate between those in the interior of nebula and those in the dense cloud. The sulfur emission is seen to break into filamentary and clumpy structures with sizes down to the limit of what the telescope can show. In contrast, emission from gaseous oxygen and hydrogen (shown as blue and green, respectively) is favored in the interior of the nebula itself, and is distributed much more smoothly in the image. The Orion Nebula is a stellar nursery - a region where new stars are forming out of interstellar gas. The emission from the nebula is powered by the intense ultraviolet light from a cluster of particularly hot and luminous stars. The sulfur emission seen in the photograph is coming from the region where the light from these stars is boiling off material from the face of the dense cloud. This is the very cloud from which the hot stars formed, and is known to harbor additional ongoing star formation. (Photo by NASA/SSPL/Getty Images) (credit:NASA via Getty Images)