"Taffy Galaxies Collide, Creating Cosmic Butterfly and Turbulent Bridge"

The collision of two galaxies, nicknamed the "Taffy Galaxies," some 180 million light-years away from Earth has been captured by the Gemini North telescope in Hawaii. The image shows the galaxies recovering from their head-on smash and drawing away from each other, creating a warm taffy being pulled apart effect. Collisions of galaxies such as this drive the evolution of the universe, both triggering star formation and halting it. While star formation continues in the wings of this vast cosmic butterfly, which are made up of the two Taffy galaxies, the story is different in the red-hued body and tail of the butterfly.