At left is NGC 2937, an elliptical galaxy that looks like a tiny teal oval and is nicknamed the Egg. At right is NGC 2936, a distorted spiral galaxy nicknamed the Penguin, which is significantly larger. Nasa, ESA, CSA, STScIshowing two galaxies, one nicknamed the Penguin and the other the Egg, in the process of merging in sort of a cosmic ballet as the US space agency marked two years since it unveiled the orbiting observatory’s first scientific results.
They are shown in the imagery joined by a haze that is a mix of stars and gas amid their slow-motion merger The Penguin galaxy, so dubbed because its shape from the perspective of the telescope resembles that flightless bird, including a beak-like region, is formally called NGC 2936. It is a spiral-shaped galaxy, now a bit distorted. The Egg galaxy, also named for its shape, is formally called NGC 2937. It is a compact elliptical-shaped galaxy. Together their appearance is suggestive of a penguin guarding its egg.