What you see above is Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola, which translates from Hawaiian to “The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life.”
It’s a beautiful description of the image, which shows two galaxies known as NGC 7253A and NGC 7253B spiraling toward each other about 200 million light-years away.
High school students gave the photo its name, as part of the Project Hōkūlani internship program run by the Gemini Observatory, which originally captured the image, and the University of Hawai’i. Six students spent time with astronomers at the Gemini North telescope on Hawai’i’s Mauna Kea shield volcano. It’s a perfect location for observing space, due to its high altitude, arid conditions, and minimal light pollution.
The students were responsible for both choosing the subject of an astronomical photo and naming it. They picked the collision of these galaxies not only for its beauty, but also because it has a prominent place in Hawaiian stargazing history.
“NGC 7253 is a fascinating object because it’s two galaxies that are merging into one over billions of years,” said student Raiyan Rahman in a statement. “But we mainly picked this object because it was one of the few that actually lay within a Hawaiian constellation, Ka Lupe o Kawelo. ... It was important to us to pick something that was both culturally and astronomically significant."
Ka Lupe o Kawelo, or “the kite of the chief Kawelo,” is one of four large star families that feature in Hawaiian tradition. Kawelo is among the most famous epic heroes from the island of Kaua’i. According to legend, he became a powerful leader despite a humble upbringing that included being raised by his grandparents.
The inevitable collision of NGC 7253A and NGC 7253B may be less violent than you’d think: There’s typically no dramatic smashing of stars and planets in the merging galaxies (the vast distances between them make collisions very rare and insignificant). What do smash together are giant clouds of gas, which then get squeezed and compressed, leading to bursts of star creation.
Astronomers think a similar collision may one day befall our own galaxy. Thankfully, we’ve still got a few billion years to prepare for it. 
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Lead Image: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
