American space agency Nasa shared an extremely rare photograph captured by the Hubble telescope, which it said shows a fight between ‘galactic siblings’. The image, posted by Nasa on the Instagram page of the Hubble telescope, showed a triplet of galaxies called ‘Arp 195’ caught in a gravitational tug-of-war game. Nasa said this observation time with Hubble is extremely valuable.
“Galactic siblings fight, too. This #HubbleFriday view shows a triplet of galaxies, called Arp 195, caught in a gravitational tug-of-war game. Ask any astronomer, and they’ll tell you that observation time with Hubble is extremely valuable,” the post read.
The post was shared with a picture of three sparkling intertwined galaxies shaped like an axe.
“There isn’t time to waste a second, so the schedule for Hubble’s observations is calculated using a computer algorithm which allows the spacecraft to sometimes collect “bonus” snapshots of data in between longer observations,” the nasa hubble post read.
It added that the image is one of those extra observations, which not just provides a spectacular view but can also help identify promising targets to follow up with using telescopes with Nasa.
Hubble Space Telescope, a large, space-based observatory, is credited with revolutionising astronomy since its launch and deployment by the space shuttle Discovery in 1990. It was named in the honour of the trailblazing astronomer Edwin Hubble.
Hubble has been instrumental in providing a crystal-clear view of the universe beyond the interruptions from rain clouds, light pollution and distortions in the atmosphere. Hubble has aided scientists in observing some of the most distant stars and galaxies yet seen, as well as the planets in our solar system.
Launched in 1990, Hubble has made more than 1.5 million observations of the universe. Nasa launched five repair missions to the telescope during the space shuttle program. The final tune-up was in 2009.
Nasa plans to launch Hubble’s successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, by year end.
(With inputs from agencies)
