NGC 6240: Merging Galaxies . ... Credit Copyright: NASA , ESA , Hubble Heritage ( STScI / AURA ), A. Evans (U. Virginia / NRAO / Stony Brook U.) Explanation: NGC 6240 offers a rare, nearby glimpse of a cosmic catastrophe in its final throes. The titanic galaxy-galaxy collision takes place a mere 400 million light-years away in the constellation Ophiuchus . The merging galaxies spew distorted tidal tails of stars, gas, and dust and undergo fast and furious bursts of star formation. ...