Four of the galaxies show essentially the same redshift suggesting that they are at the same distance from us. The large bluish spiral below and left of center actually has a smaller redshift than the others, indicating it is much closer. It is probably a foreground object which happens to lie along the line of sight to the more distant galaxies. Of the four distant galaxies , three seem to be colliding , showing serious distortions due to gravitational tidal forces. Recent results suggest that collisions play an important role in the life cycles of galaxies .
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