NASA’s Hubble telescope spots the ‘Greater Pumpkin’ galaxies 120 MILLION light-years from Earth

NASA’s Hubble telescope spots the ‘Greater Pumpkin’ galaxies 120 MILLION light-years from Earth, complete with glowing eyes and a carved crooked smile

  • NASA’s Hubble telescope captured a spooky scene 120 million light-years away
  • Deemed the ‘Greater Pumpkin’, the image is of two galaxies colliding
  • The aging red stars are creating an orange hue that resembles a pumpkin
  • There is a newly formed star cluster that appears to look like a smile 
  • The eyes are concentrations of stars around two supermassive black holes

NASA‘s Hubble Telescope has discovered what is being called the ‘Greater Pumpkin’ galaxy pair located 120 million light-years from Earth.

Astronomers say the galaxies resemble the shape of the iconic Halloween decoration, forming what appears to be two glowing eyes and a crooked carved smile.

However, the scene is a snapshot of the early stages of galaxies NGC 2292 and NCG 2293 slowly colliding. 

The faint, bluish smile is due to a newly formed star cluster and the glowing eyes are concentrations of stars around two supermassive black holes.

Experts say this event, although happening ever so slowly, could result in a giant spiral galaxy.

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NASA’s Hubble Telescope has discovered what is being called the ‘Greater Pumpkin’ galaxy pair located 120 million light-years from Earth. Astronomers say the galaxies resemble the shape of the iconic Halloween decoration, forming what appears to be two glowing eyes and a crooked carved smile

‘Hubble’s holiday offering is a pair of colliding galaxies that resemble the cartoon Peanuts character Linus’s imagining of the elusive Great Pumpkin,’ NASA shared in a statement.

‘Great’ is an understatement in this case because the galaxy pair spans 100,000 light-years.’

The team notes that our Milky Way Galaxy is set to collide with neighboring Andromeda galaxy in about six billion years, and although none of us are likely to be here, the event 6’could take on a spooky appearance too.’

The eerie ‘smile’ is actually the beginning stages of rebuilding a spiral galaxy, researchers explained.

The faint bluish smile is due to a newly formed star cluster and the glowing eyes are concentrations of stars around two supermassive black holes. Experts say this event, although happening ever so slowly, could result in a giant spiral galaxy like galaxy UGC 2885 (pictured)

The faint bluish smile is due to a newly formed star cluster and the glowing eyes are concentrations of stars around two supermassive black holes. Experts say this event, although happening ever so slowly, could result in a giant spiral galaxy like galaxy UGC 2885 (pictured)

It stretches to each of the galaxies and was likely formed by interstellar gas being compressed as teh pair started on their collision – and the orange hue is from the aging red stars.

NGC 2292 and NCG 2293 galaxies are located in the Canis Major constellation and being so far, has made the duo difficult to spot among the plethora of stars in the region.

The galaxy pair was similar to objects tagged by the citizen-science project Galaxy Zoo, where volunteers go hunting for oddball-looking galaxies. 

Astronomer William Keel, of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa believes the Greater Pumpkin will transform into a giant spiral galaxy similar to UGC  

Keel speculates that the ultimate destiny for this pair will be to merge into a giant luminous spiral galaxy like UGC 2885, Rubin’s Galaxy, which is over twice the diameter of our Milky Way. 

NASA posted another spooky photo that was out of this world - the sun glowing with a pumpkin face. The haunting illuminated 'face' smoldered on the sun's surface in 2014 when activity reached 'solar maximum', meaning more sun spots occurred

NASA posted another spooky photo that was out of this world – the sun glowing with a pumpkin face. The haunting illuminated ‘face’ smoldered on the sun’s surface in 2014 when activity reached ‘solar maximum’, meaning more sun spots occurred

NASA posted another spooky photo that was out of this world – the sun glowing with a pumpkin face.

The image was shared exactly one year ago and shows active regions on the sun’s surface created the grimacing smile and slanted eyes on the biggest ‘pumpkin’ of all.

The haunting illuminated ‘face’ smoldered on the sun’s surface in 2014 when activity reached ‘solar maximum’, meaning more sun spots occurred.

‘Even our star celebrates the spooky season — in 2014, active regions on the Sun created this jack-o’-lantern face, as seen in ultraviolet light by our Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite,’ NASA shared on its website.

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