(click on image to enlarge)
From NASA/ ESA, September 30, 2019: The galaxy pictured in this Hubble Picture of the Week has an especially evocative name: the Medusa merger.
Often referred to by its somewhat drier New General Catalogue
designation of NGC 4194, this was not always one entity, but two. An
early galaxy consumed a smaller gas-rich system, throwing out streams of
stars and dust out into space. These streams, seen rising from the top
of the merger galaxy, resembles the writhing snakes that Medusa, a monster in ancient Greek mythology, famously had on her head in place of hair, lending the object its intriguing name.
The legend of Medusa also held that anyone who saw her face
would transform into stone. In this case, you can feast your eyes
without fear on the centre of the merging galaxies, a region known as
Medusa's eye. All the cool gas pooling here has triggered a burst of star formation, causing it to stand out brightly against the dark cosmic backdrop.
The Medusa merger is located about 130 million light-years away in the constellation of Ursa Major (The Great Bear).
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Adamo
