High school students participating in a joint internship program with Gemini Observatory and the University of Hawaiʻi have named a pair of merging spiral galaxies, NGC 7253 and Arp 278. The galaxies, located 200 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus, were captured in detail by the 8.1 meter Gemini North telescope on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi.
The Hawaiian name given to the galaxy pair is Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola, which translates to "The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life." The students chose the name as part of the Project Hōkūlani internship. This name is considered appropriate because galaxy collisions trigger star formation, utilizing elemental building blocks of life.
The merging galaxies are found within Ka Lupe o Kawelo, a Hawaiian navigational constellation within Pegasus. The image is a sharp depiction of the galaxies’ gravitational embrace.
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