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\nThe galaxy pictured in this\u00a0Hubble Picture of the Week\u00a0has an especially evocative name: the Medusa merger.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nOften referred to by its somewhat drier\u00a0New General Catalogue\u00a0designation of NGC 4194, this was not always one entity, but two. An early galaxy consumed a smaller gas-rich system, throwing out streams of stars and dust out into space. These streams, seen rising from the top of the merger galaxy, resembles the writhing snakes that\u00a0Medusa, a monster in ancient\u00a0Greek mythology, famously had on her head in place of hair, lending the object its intriguing name.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nThe legend of Medusa also held that anyone who saw her face would transform into stone. In this case, you can feast your eyes without fear on the centre of the merging galaxies, a region known as Medusa’s eye. All the cool gas pooling here has triggered a burst of\u00a0star formation, causing it to stand out brightly against the dark cosmic backdrop.\n<\/p>\n
\nThe Medusa merger is located about 130 million light-years away in the constellation of\u00a0Ursa Major (The Great Bear).\u00a0\n<\/p>\n