Those Colliding Galaxies

I know, I know. I showed you one of these a few entries ago. But, I can’t help it. I’m stuck on ’em. Just look at this picture and tell me you aren’t taken with the beauty of two galaxies colliding. And look at all the galaxies in the background!  They’re in all shapes and sizes.

In case you didn’t figure this out already, it’s another gorgeous view from Hubble Space Telescope. It’s of NGC 3256, an object that looks like one galaxy but is actually the aftermath of a collision of two spearate galaxies. There’s a double nucleus here and the two “footlike” smears extending out from either side of the central action are tidal tails chock-full of hot young stars and gas clouds.