Awe-Inspiring Images Of Galaxies Colliding

Updated September 23, 2018 1.5K votes 234 voters

Over 200 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of Awe-Inspiring Images Of Galaxies Colliding

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Vote up the most beautiful and brutal galactic battles.

Our universe is always expanding, but thanks to the gravitational pull of neighboring stars, galaxies crash into each other in spectacular fashion. What happens when galaxies collide? The stars of each galaxy do not simply smash into each other and create space debris and stardust. Rather, the dust and gases of adjacent galaxies interact, creating shock waves that can birth new stars or black holes. Galaxies can even combine during an eventful collision, which can take millions of years to occur.

Thanks to sophisticated technology like the Hubble Space Telescope, we may not be able to observe the entire process of collision and galaxy merging, but we do get some pretty dreamy photos of galaxies colliding. For those who love awesome pictures of space, enjoy the universe in action with these stunning photos of not worlds, but galaxies colliding.

1. Two Large Galaxies, Known As The Antennae, Are Colliding And Triggering Super Star Cluster Formations
Photo: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA, ESA
118 votes
2. Rare Head On Galaxy Collision Birthed The Cartwheel Galaxy
Photo: Chandra, GALEX, Hubble, Spitzer
113 votes
3. In Four Billion Years, Earth's Sky Could Look Like This As The Andromeda Galaxy Crashes Into Our Galaxy, The Milky Way
Photo: NASA, ESA, Z. Levay and R. van der Marel (STScI), and A. Mellinger
110 votes
4. Spiral Galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 Are Ripping Each Other Apart Until There Is Only One Left
Photo: Debra Meloy Elmegreen (Vassar College) et al., & the Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI/NASA)
77 votes
5. The Spiral Galaxies Of Arp 271 Connect Briefly, Threatening Collision
Photo: Gemini Observatory, GMOS-South, NSF
90 votes
6. These Two Galaxies 300 Million Light Years Away From Earth Are In A Dance To The Death
Photo: NASA, ESA, Hubble Space Telescope
82 votes

1. Two Large Galaxies, Known As The Antennae, Are Colliding And Triggering Super Star Cluster Formations

2. Rare Head On Galaxy Collision Birthed The Cartwheel Galaxy

3. In Four Billion Years, Earth's Sky Could Look Like This As The Andromeda Galaxy Crashes Into Our Galaxy, The Milky Way

4. Spiral Galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 Are Ripping Each Other Apart Until There Is Only One Left

5. The Spiral Galaxies Of Arp 271 Connect Briefly, Threatening Collision

6. These Two Galaxies 300 Million Light Years Away From Earth Are In A Dance To The Death