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Evidence of an Encounter
Featured on April 12, 2015
A kink in one of its spiral arms suggests that the galaxy M66 recently staged a close encounter with a nearby companion galaxy. The kink is near the center of this image, and is marked by a bright red blob of newly forming stars. M66 is about the size of the Milky Way, as is its companion, M66. Gravitational interactions between the two galaxies may have distorted M66 and spurred the birth of many new stars. [NASA/ESA/Hubble Heritage]
