---
title: "NASA Releases Hubble Images of Galaxies Smashing Into Each Other"
description: "NASA and the European Space Agency have graced us with six glorious views of mindbogglingly massive galaxy mergers, courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope."
date: "2021-01-08"
modified: "2021-01-08"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-hubble-galaxies-smashing"
categories:
  - "NASA"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "black hole merger"
  - "ESA"
  - "hubble space teleescope"
  - "NASA"
  - "the digest"
---

# NASA Releases Hubble Images of Galaxies Smashing Into Each Other

![NASA and the European Space Agency have graced us with six glorious views of mindbogglingly massive galaxy mergers, courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/nasa-hubble-galaxies-smashing.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: ESA\</em\>*

## Galaxy Mergers

To celebrate the new year, NASA and the European Space Agency have graced us with six glorious views of mindbogglingly massive galaxy mergers, courtesy of the Hubble Space Telescope.

"These interactions are a key aspect of galaxy evolution and are among the most spectacular events in the lifetime of a galaxy," reads an [ESA statement](<https://esahubble.org/news/heic2101/>).

![](<https://cdn.spacetelescope.org/archives/images/large/heic2101a.jpg>)
*Image Credit: ESA*

Each system was the subject of a study into how galaxies evolve and the rate at which they produce new stars. When galaxies merge, they change their appearances dramatically. The stars present in them also change considerably, making them perfect candidates to study how stars are formed.

## Shine Bright

Massive star clusters that result from these collisions emit immense amounts of light, even after the collision has taken place.

The space observatory was able to resolve "large star-forming 'knots' into numerous compact young star clusters," according to the ESA. Hubble's ultraviolet and near-infrared observations of these mergers then could show us how old these clusters are, their mass, and even when they went extinct.

**READ MORE:** [Hubble telescope delivers rare, glorious views of six galaxies colliding](<https://www.cnet.com/news/hubble-telescope-delivers-rare-glorious-views-of-six-galaxies-colliding/>) \[*CNET*\]

**More on galaxy mergers:** *[Astronomers Surprised to Find Stars Streaming Into the Center of Our Galaxy](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronomers-surprised-stars-streaming-into-galaxy>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)