Around 130 million light years from Earth, the spiral galaxies NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are colliding in the constellation Canis Major for a stunning light show.
Captured in a recent NASA photo, the galaxies are producing "ultra-luminous X-ray sources" that astronomers hypothesize are a special kind of X-ray binary, which is when a star circles a neutron star or a particular black hole, Space.com reported.
The scientists analyzing the data say that "there is a strong correlation between the number of X-ray sources in different regions of the galaxies and the rate at which stars are forming in these regions," according to NASA.
"The composite image shows this correlation through X-ray sources concentrated in the spiral arms of the galaxies, where large amounts of stars are known to be forming. This correlation also suggests that the companion star in the binary systems is young and massive."
The colorful image of the colliding galaxies is a composite picture that uses data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope.
The pair of galaxies, which are the subject of a new study, are believed to be associated with relatively young stars that researchers date at around 10 million years old. When galaxies collide, they are likely to produce intense star formation.
In the last 15 years, NGC 2207 and IC 2163 have been the site for three supernova explosions. The recent encounter is "one of the most bountiful collections of super bright X-ray lights known," NASA said.
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