Unlike this spiral phenomenon that appeared over Hawaii, the Hubble Space Telescope observed Arp-Madore 608-333 with two actual interacting galaxies. They may appear calm and orderly at first glance, but these two galaxies are warping each other through a mutual gravitational interaction that is disrupting and distorting both of them, as captured by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys.
These two interacting galaxies in Arp-Madore 608-333 were observed in an effort to build an archive of interesting targets for more detailed future study with Hubble, ground-based telescopes, and the new NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. Astronomers accomplish this by searching existing astronomical catalogues for a list of targets spread throughout the night sky. This would include objects that have already been identified as interesting, making it easy for Hubble to observe no matter which direction it is pointing.
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There is a small but persistent fraction of time — around 2–3% — that goes unused as Hubble turns to point at new targets. Snapshot programs, such as the one which captured Arp-Madore 608-333, exist to fill this gap and take advantage of the moments between longer observations,” said the ESA.
