Hubble's front row seat when galaxies collide

This delicate smudge in deep space is far more turbulent than it first appears. Known as IRAS 14348-1447—a name derived in part from that of its discoverer, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS for short)—this celestial object is actually a combination of two gas-rich spiral galaxies. This doomed duo approached one another too closely in the past, gravity causing them to affect and tug at each other and slowly, destructively, merge into one.