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NGC 2292 and NGC 2293

Interacting galaxies NGC 2292 and NGC 2293
This is a Hubble Space Telescope snapshot of the early stages of a collision between two galaxies that resembles a Halloween carved pumpkin. The "pumpkin's" glowing “eyes” are the bright, star-filled cores of each galaxy that contain supermassive black holes. An arm of newly forming stars give the imaginary pumpkin a wry smirk. The two galaxies, cataloged as NGC  2292 and NGC  2293, are located about 120 million light-years away in the constellation Canis Major.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    06:47:39.65
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -26:44:46.50
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Canis Major
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    about 120 million light-years
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    Image is about 3 arcmin across (about 108,000 light-years)

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    The HST observations include those from programs 15445 (W. Keel)
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    23 Jan 2020
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F606W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 2292 and NGC 2293
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Pair of Interacting Galaxies
  • Release Date
    October 29, 2020
  • Science Release
    Hubble Finds “Greater Pumpkin” Galaxy Pair
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and W. Keel (University of Alabama)

Downloads

  • 2000 × 1904
    png (5.4 MB)
  • Full Res, 6196 × 5901
    tif (54.59 MB)
Interacting galaxies NGC 2292 and NGC 2293
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS/WFC instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope along with ground-based observations from the Pan-STARRS program. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Luminosity: F606W Blue: Pan-STARRS (g) Red: Pan-STARRS (z) The higher resolution, black & white Hubble image and the lower resolution, color Pan-STARRS images were combined using a technique that takes luminosity (brightness) information from the black and white ACS image and color information from the composite Pan-STARRS image. This preserves all of the higher-resolution detail from the Hubble data while also rendering a color image of this region of space.

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Interacting galaxies NGC 2292 and NGC 2293 with compass and scale

Compass Image for NGC 2292 and NGC 2293

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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