Galaxies Colliding and Crashing

In honor of the Hubble Telescope's 18th anniversary, the Space Telescope Science Institute released 59 new images of two near by galaxies colliding with each other. This event is something fairly rare for scientists to observe in modern time. A statement released by the institute stated that "Astronomers observe only one out of a million galaxies in the nearby universe in the act of colliding." This natural wonder was more prevalent in the past, however as the universe expands, less and less collisions occur. After two galaxies collide, new stars begin to form rapidly, which can be seen in some of the photos available on the Hubble Telescope's official site.

The images and pictures we're now observing are a time capsule of sorts. It takes millions of years for galaxies to merge. On top of that, it takes even more millions of years for their light to travel to a point where it is observable. Due to the fact that the Hubble Telescope is located outside of the Earth's atmosphere, the images of the collision are very sharp and detailed.

It's somewhat lucky that the Hubble Telescope is even around to take these images. Maintaining the telescope requires astronauts to regularly service the telescope with space shuttle missions. NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) had plans to discontinue maintenance of the telescope, however public outcry caused them to rethink their decision. The next maintenance trip for the Hubble Telescope is planned for August of this year. In the year 2013, the Hubble telescope is supposed to be replaced by the James Webb Space Telescope if all goes according to plan.