July 5, 2022

The galaxy CGCG 396-2 (Image ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. Keel)

An image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy CGCG 396-2, out of the ordinary thanks to its many arms. It’s a galaxy that has become an object of interest by the Galaxy Zoo project, one of the astronomical projects that involve the public, in this case, to classify galaxies observed by various telescopes. CGCG 396-2 was selected for follow-up observations with Hubble, whose ACS instrument made it possible to examine the arms that have an unusual configuration because there’s a galaxy merger taking place and consequently an unusual shape that is changing over time.