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This sharp photograph shows a pair of these galaxies from Arp's catalogue. When two galaxies stray too close to each other, they begin to pull at each other with their gravity. This causes spectacular changes to both objects. In some cases, the two can merge together; but in others, they are ripped apart! Just below the centre of this image is the blue, twisted form of a galaxy nicknamed ‘the Penguin’. Once a grand spiral galaxy, the Penguin has been torn apart by the gravitational pull of its cosmic partner, which you can see here as a bright white oval. The pair show an uncanny resemblance to a penguin safeguarding its egg!
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