Zooming in on the Meathook Galaxy

This video zooms in on NGC 2442, which is nicknamed the Meathook Galaxy due to its distinctive shape. The distorted shape of the galaxy is thought to be due to a near-miss encounter between NGC 2442 and another galaxy. As well as stretching one of the spiral arms, this episode in its history also triggered intense star formation in the longer arm. This is visible here as the red/pink glow of gas bathed in the intense ultraviolet light from the newly formed stars.