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Can you spot the penguin and egg-shaped galaxies in this NASA pic?

“This is the cutest thing I have seen all day,” wrote an Instagram user while reacting to NASA’s post on penguin and egg-shaped galaxies.

Published on: Jan 18, 2024, 13:21:12 IST
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NASA took to Instagram to share an interesting post about two galaxies located 23 million light-years away from Earth. In the post, the space agency shared how one of the galaxies resembles the shape of a penguin and another one that resembles an egg.

The image shows two galaxies captured by NASA's Hubble Space and Spitzer telescopes. (Instagram/@nasa)
The image shows two galaxies captured by NASA's Hubble Space and Spitzer telescopes. (Instagram/@nasa)

“Cosmic noot. These penguin and egg-shaped galaxies were captured by our Spitzer and @NASAHubble space telescopes. At 23 million light-years away, this remote pairing lives about 10 times farther from us than the Andromeda galaxy,” NASA wrote.

“⁣The ‘penguin’ part of the pair is a spiral galaxy twisted and pulled by the pull of its neighbour. Due to its mix of features – new stars, strands of gas, and others – its distortion is readily visible. The ‘egg,’ in contrast, appears featureless due to its smooth distribution of old stars. This hides any shaping caused by its neighbour,” they added. Eventually, gravity will bring these two galaxies closer over time and they will merge into one.

Also Read: NASA's Hubble Telescope stuns people with 3 amazing captures of galaxies. See pics

The first image shows the ‘egg’ galaxy located just below the ‘penguin’. The second image is the same as the first one but with purple outlines around the two galaxies to highlight their penguin and egg shapes.

Take a look at the entire post here:

The post was shared about 11 hours ago. Since then, it has accumulated nearly one million likes. The share has also prompted people to post varied comments.

Also Read: NASA shares mesmerising pic of 'irregular galaxy' 7 million light-years away from Earth

How did Instagram users react to this NASA post?

“This is the cutest thing I have seen all day,” wrote an Instagram user. “It’s a penguin with glasses,” added another. “It was more recognizable before the doodle. Just saying!” joined a third. Many reacted to the post using emoticons.

  • Trisha Sengupta
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Trisha Sengupta

    Trisha Sengupta is a Chief Content Producer at Hindustan Times with over six years of digital newsroom experience. Specialising in high-engagement storytelling, she blends viral trends with traditional journalism to cover the intersection of technology, finance, and human emotion. Her reporting spans real estate and personal finance struggles in hubs like Bengaluru and Gurgaon, the NRI experience, and corporate shifts like tech layoffs. Trisha also frequently tracks global figures and writes human interest stories. Offline, Trisha is an avid reader, history enthusiast and solo traveler. She balances her journalism career with family life while actively integrating AI tools into her modern storytelling approach.Read More