The galaxies are located about 63 million light years away and are in the process of slowly merging. The nucleus of each galaxy is seen as the two bright, white areas of the image. The small white and reddish spots between them are regions of intense star formation that is taking place as the gas clouds within the galaxies collide.

This false-color near-infrared image was captured using the Palomar Observatory's 200-inch (5.1-meter) Hale Telescope with its Wide-field Infrared Camera (WIRC).

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