Skip to content

A Serendipitous Spiral Trail

A bright galaxy with a serpentine trail of galaxies to its right.
A bright galaxy with a serpentine trail of galaxies to its right. Image: NASA/STScI/CEERS/TACC/S. Finkelstein/M. Bagley/Z. Levay

A bright galaxy at redshift z=2 is at left, meaning its light has traveled over 10 billion years to reach us. To the right are several smaller pink and purple galaxies, lined up like galactic snake vertebrae.

The galactic trail and the Space Kraken, at bottom.
The galactic trail and the Space Kraken, at bottom. Image: : NASA/STScI/CEERS/TACC/S. Finkelstein/M. Bagley/Z. Levay.