Jul 26, 2023
The Galaxy Sized Comet
The galaxy ESO 137-001 has a gas leaking problem, and it stretches for 1.2 million light years, just over half the way to Andromeda from the Milky Way.
The galaxy is 600 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Aquarius, and is nicknamed "The Kite" as it appears to dangle on a string.
The image is a composite, including X-Ray (blue) to help highlight what is actually going on here.
The galaxy is moving quickly through a cluster of galaxies, and as it does it is slamming into ambient gas, which is then stripping the galaxy of it's own dust and gas.
The pressure will slow the galaxy down over time, but it's eventual fate like most galaxies will be probably a merger with another cluster member.