NGC 17: This galaxy features a single nucleus, a containing a blue central disc with delicate fine structure in the outer parts and tidal tails indicative of two former disc galaxies. At present these galaxies appear to have completed their merger. The remnant shows clear signs that the merger was gas-rich and accompanied by a starburst. NGC 17 is gas-rich and can sustain its strong central starburst and present mild central activity for some time to come. NGC 17 is located about 250 million light-years away in the constellation of Cetus, the Whale. This image is part of a large  collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

Name: NGC 17
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: AnniversaryGalaxies
Constellation: Cetus
Distance: 250 million light years
Release date: 24 April 2008, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

ESO 77-14: This Hubble image of ESO 77-14 is a stunning snapshot of a celestial dance performed by a pair of similar-sized galaxies. Two clear signatures of the gravitational tug of war between the galaxies are the bridge of material that connects them and the disruption of their main bodies. The galaxy on the right has a long, bluish arm while its companion has a shorter, redder arm. This interacting pair is in the constellation of Indus, the Indian, some 550 million light-years away from Earth. The dust lanes between the two galaxy centres show the extent of the distortion to the originally flat discs that have been pulled into three-dimensional shapes. This image is part of a large  collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

Name: ESO 77-14
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: AnniversaryGalaxies
Constellation: Indus
Distance: 550 million light years
Release date: 24 April 2008, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

NGC 6050: Arp 272 is a remarkable collision between two spiral galaxies, NGC 6050 and IC 1179, and is part of the Hercules Galaxy Cluster, located in the constellation of Hercules. The galaxy cluster is part of the Great Wall of clusters and superclusters, the largest known structure in the Universe. The two spiral galaxies are linked by their swirling arms. Arp 272 is located some 450 million light-years away from Earth. This image is part of a large  collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

Name: Arp 272, IC 1179, NGC 6050
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : SpiralLocal Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: AnniversaryGalaxies
Constellation: Hercules
Distance: 450 million light years
Release date: 24 April 2008, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and K. Noll (STScI)

NGC 520: NGC 520 is the product of a collision between two disc galaxies that started 300 million years ago. It exemplifies the middle stages of the merging process: the discs of the parent galaxies have merged together, but the nuclei have not yet coalesced. It features an odd-looking tail of stars and a prominent dust lane that runs diagonally across the centre of the image and obscures the galaxy. NGC 520 is one of the brightest galaxy pairs on the sky, and can be observed with a small telescope toward the constellation of Pisces, the Fish, having the appearance of a comet. It is about 100 million light-years away and about 100,000 light-years across. The galaxy pair is included in Arp's catalogue of peculiar galaxies as ARP 157. This image is part of a large  collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

Name: Arp 157, NGC 520, VV 231
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: AnniversaryGalaxies
Constellation: Pisces
Distance: 100 million light years
Release date: 24 April 2008, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and B. Whitmore (STScI)

NGC 3256: NGC 3256 is an impressive example of a peculiar galaxy that is actually the relict of a collision of two separate galaxies that took place in a distant past. The telltale signs of the collision are two extended luminous tails swirling out from the galaxy. NGC 3256 belongs to the Hydra-Centaurus supercluster complex and provides a nearby template for studying the properties of young star clusters in tidal tails. The system hides a double nucleus and a tangle of dust lanes in the central region. The tails are studded with a particularly high density of star clusters. This image is part of a large  collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

Name: NGC 3256, VV 65
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: AnniversaryGalaxies
Constellation: Vela
Distance: 100 million light years
Release date: 24 April 2008, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

NGC 3690: This system consists of a pair of galaxies, dubbed IC 694 and NGC 3690, which made a close pass some 700 million years ago. As a result of this interaction, the system underwent a fierce burst of star formation. In the last fifteen years or so six supernovae have popped off in the outer reaches of the galaxy, making this system a distinguished supernova factory. This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

Name: Arp 299, IC 694, NGC 3690
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: AnniversaryGalaxies
Constellation: Ursa Major
Distance: 150 million light years
Release date: 24 April 2008, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

NGC 5257, NGC 5258: Arp 240 is an astonishing galaxy pair, composed of spiral galaxies of similar mass and size, NGC 5257 and NGC 5258. The galaxies are visibly interacting with each other via a bridge of dim stars connecting the two galaxies, almost like two dancers holding hands while performing a pirouette. Both galaxies harbour supermassive black holes in their centres and are actively forming new stars in their discs. Arp 240 is located in the constellation Virgo, approximately 300 million light-years away, and is the 240th galaxy in Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. With the exception of a few foreground stars from our own Milky Way all the objects in this image are galaxies. This image is part of a large  collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

Name: Arp 240, NGC 5257, NGC 5258
Type: Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Category: AnniversaryGalaxies
Constellation: Virgo
Distance: 300 million light years
Release date: 24 April 2008, 15:00
Credit: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)