【sex in the cinema video】Distant galaxies get busy under Hubble's watchful eye

The sex in the cinema videoHubble Space Telescope doesn't just take pretty pictures; it also helps researchers better understand what they're seeing in the far reaches of space.

Take this newly shared image of UGC 2369, a designation that actually applies to two different galaxies that are slowly, inexorably merging into one. This phenomenon of interacting galaxies comes into play when their gravitational fields overlap and attract.

You can see the connection between the two galaxies making up UGC 2369 in what NASA describes as a "bridge of gas, dust and stars" set between them. It's hard to miss, that curvy, orange-tinged region of space forming what looks at this great distance like a tenuous connection.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

It's not actually tenuous, however. These brightly colored celestial bodies, each representing millions of stars, are in the active process of merging into one. The so-called "bridge" that connects them is a physical representation of gravity's tug as it pulls the two galaxies (and everything inside them) closer to one another.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

This, NASA points out, is a fairly common occurrence in the big picture, though it typically involves a larger galaxy absorbing a smaller one. Bigger collisions are possible, however, and it turns out that we ourselves are headed toward one even now.

SEE ALSO: Facts about space that will rock your world

At some point in the future, our Milky Way Galaxy will collide with our biggest neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy. Eventually (probably), the two will merge into one galaxy that already has a baller celebrity power couple nickname: Milkomeda. (I would've preferred Milkdromeda.)

Don't bother setting your clocks or marking your calendars, though. This celestial event isn't expected to happen for another four billion years.

Ain't space grand?

---

Featured Video For You

---

NASA's 4-legged robot can pass information on to future generations — Strictly Robots

---

• explore
• synthesize
• fashion
• relaxation
• hotspot
• recreation
• knowledge
• focus

• Still With Us in Thoughts, Deeds and Love
• ByteDance’s video editing app CapCut reaches $100 million in consumer spend · TechNode
• LG smartphones will lose update support in June
• Best kitchen pan deal: Save $20 on Our Place Mini Always pan
• BIFF to Screen Asian American Serial Killer Film
• Best Amazon deal: Get the FlexiSpot Standing Desk for just $95
• Plant Parenthood
• Best hair dryer deal: Save $30 on the Dreame Gleam Hair Dryer
• 'Helldivers 2' EAT
• JBL Go 3 Eco speaker deal: Get 25% off

• Duckworth Introduces Resolution Supporting Constitutional Right to Peacefully Protest
• A Leader Most Regal
• National Merit $2,500 Scholarship Winners Announced
• National Veterans Network Announces Names of JA WWII Soldiers in Army Museum Exhibits
• Hanabusa Running for Mayor of Honolulu
• Dance of the Snowflakes
• Memorial Day 2020
• JACL: Outrage Over George Floyd’s Death Is Not Enough
• Shining a Light on Racism
• Voiceless Call for Peace and Understanding

• Rooster qualify for ESL Pro League Season 17
• Retreat of the Scholars
• TSMC to invest in Arm and IMS Nanofabrication · TechNode
• Chinese automaker Geely denies plan to build factory in Indonesia · TechNode
• Shaking Things Up
• Baidu launches a plug
• Alibaba opens its AI model Tongyi Qianwen to the public · TechNode
• Chinese EV maker WM Motor’s Hong Kong IPO collapses · TechNode
• Nisei Cartoonist Jack Matsuoka Dies at 87
• Qualcomm China and Baidu form partnership to develop extended reality technology · TechNode

• ‘Quiet Beauty’ Author to Speak at Manzanar
• Face Value
• 2019's word of the year is 'climate strike'
• Alibaba’s new CEO pledges to focus on AI · TechNode
• Vitality beat ITB to secure Major semi
• Huawei to hold launch event on the anniversary of Meng Wanzhou’s return from Canada · TechNode
• Best gaming mouse deal: Save $35 on the Logitech G Pro 2 Lightspeed Wireless Gaming Mouse at Amazon
• Southwest Summer Sale: Up to 30% off flights in summer, early fall
• Japanese Ph.D. Student Threatened with Deportation
• Tencent Games may build theme park in China · TechNode