When Two Become One: Twisted Cosmic Knot Shines in Hubble Photo

This stunning image shows a galaxy appearing to spin across space. It's actually the result of a major collision between two galaxies creating a twisted cosmic knot. The galaxy, known as NGC 2623, or Arp 243, is located about 250 million light-years away in the constellation of Cancer (the Crab), according to a NASA statement.

The violent collision caused quite a dust-up, triggering clouds of gas to become compressed and drastically increase star formation. Many young, hot, newborn stars form in this galaxy marked by patches of bright blue in the center. The long, sweeping tails of this galaxy are clouds of gas and dust.

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Nina Sen is a freelance writer and producer who covered night sky photography and astronomy for Space.com. She began writing and producing content for Space.com in 2011 with a focus on story and image production, as well as amazing space photos captured by NASA telescopes and other missions. Her work also includes coverage of amazing images by astrophotographers that showcase the night sky's beauty.