Hubble views bizarre cosmic quartet HCG 16
This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows four of the seven members of galaxy group HCG 16.
This quartet is composed of (from left to right) NGC 839, NGC 838, NGC 835, and NGC 833 – four of the seven galaxies that make up the entire group. They shine brightly with their glowing golden centres and wispy tails of gas, set against a background dotted with much more distant galaxies.
This new image uses observations from Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 combined with data from the ESO Multi-Mode Instrument, installed on the European Southern Observatory's New Technology Telescope in Chile.
Last Update: 1 September 2019