--- title: "Hubble Space Telescope Calls Out “Hot Mess” Galactic Collision" description: "NASA is throwing shade at some \"hot mess\" colliding galaxies as they become one." date: "2021-12-01" modified: "2021-12-01" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/hubble-space-telescope-hot-mess-galactic-collision" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "Astronomy" - "galaxies" - "hubble space telescope" - "the digest" --- # Hubble Space Telescope Calls Out “Hot Mess” Galactic Collision ![NASA is throwing shade at some "hot mess" colliding galaxies as they become one.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Hot Mess NASA is throwing shade at some colliding galaxies as they merge into what's known as "interacting galaxies," which is astrophysics speak for when [galaxies, uh, ]()[collide](). "This galaxy is kind of a hot mess," NASA's Hubble Space Telescope [tweeted]() in reference to galaxy ESO 239-2, which is located a cool 550 million lightyears away from Earth. The account noted that eventually, galaxy ESO 239-2 — likely the result of merging galaxies located in the ["Grus" or Crane constellation]() that can sometimes be seen in North America's southern sky — will take on an elliptical shape "like a stretched-out circle." https://twitter.com/NASAHubble/status/1466083184450457607?t=nB3xqkWJkYa0IKjarv6e9g&s=19 ## Wanna Smash Though it sounds dramatic, galactic collisions are actually pretty common. As [Harvard's Center for Astrophysics noted](), researchers have "discovered that as many as 25 percent of galaxies are currently merging with others." As it turns out, galactic collisions are pretty important, too. In 2019, astronomers at the Rochester Institute of Technology hypothesized that [the Milky Way was actually created when its proto-galaxy collided]() with the newly-discovered Antlia 2 galaxy, which was found to be orbiting ours. The RIT researchers argued that this collision could explain the mysterious ripples found on the Milky Way's outer rim — and possibly help explain the existence of [dark matter](). There's a million imaginative directions we could take with something like the "hot mess" that is the ESO 239-2 galaxy. Is it home to new worlds, new particles — or just another vast expanse of the unknown? **More on galactic collisions:** [*Astronomers: Something Is Warping Our Entire Galaxy*]() **More Hubble:** [*Hubble Takes Breathtaking Image of “Furnace” Galaxy*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()