ESO 239-IG002
![](https://cdn.sci.esa.int/documents/34247/35306/1567217312800-heic0810bc410.jpg)
Date: 24 April 2008
Satellite: Hubble Space Telescope
Depicts: ESO 239-IG002
Copyright: NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
ESO 239-IG002 is most likely the result of a cosmic collision or a lengthy merger process that will eventually result in an elliptical galaxy. The messy intermediate stage, captured here, is a galaxy with long, tangled tidal tails that envelope the galaxy's core.
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 24 April 2008.
Last Update: 1 September 2019