There are two galaxies that are currently merging. They have been named Arp 91 collectively and these are the NGC 5953 and NGC 5954. Details of this merger can be found in a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope.
These galaxies are supposed to merge and form a new galaxy. This is what is predicted will happen when our galaxy eventually merges with our own closest galactic neighbor, the spiral galaxy Andromeda.
Galaxies are often linked with vast filaments of intergalactic gas, which can act as highways along which galaxies are drawn together across space.
These emerge occur over a stretched span of time and cannot be documented in one go. However, each one is a picture of one moment in the process. Studying the collisions collectively can allow us to make sense of the sequence of events, as seen in the 2016 simulation.
Arp 91is still existing separately as well. The process seems to have just started. However, their interaction has led to a burst of star formation in both galaxies. The inflowing gas creates shocks in clouds of molecular star-forming gas. This pushes it into thicker clumps that raze under their own mass to form baby stars.
Eventually, the two will merge and their spiral structures will form a bright and almost featureless galaxy called an elliptical galaxy. All this will happen in a few hundred million years. it is still being questioned if the humans will be alive by then to encounter its completion.
Scientists believe that the merge of the Milky Way and Andromeda will occur around 4.5 billion years from now. It is speculated that by then, humanity will not be in existence or will be in another form.
Hubble’s image of Arp 91 in full resolution or wallpaper versions can be easily downloaded from the ESA Hubble website.
