NGC 7253: A Pair of Interacting Spiral Galaxies in Pegasus | Gemini North Telescope
Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola is the Hawaiian name given to this image of NGC 7253—a pair of spiral galaxies caught in each other’s gravity in the constellation Pegasus. This image was captured by the Gemini North telescope on Maunakea, Hawaii, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and operated by NSF NOIRLab. The name of the image translates to “The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life.” It was chosen by the 2026 Project Hōkūlani interns.
NGC 7253 was discovered by the German-British astronomer Albert Marth on September 9, 1863. It is listed in Halton Arp's Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as Arp 278, as an example of gravitationally interacting galaxies.
Of the pair, the galaxy to the north is known individually as NGC 7253A. The other galaxy in the pair is known individually as NGC 7253B.
NGC 7253 has a possible active galactic nucleus (AGN), i.e. it has a compact region at the galaxy's center that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars.
Learn about the Gemini North Telescope:
https://noirlab.edu/public/programs/gemini-observatory/gemini-north/
Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)
Release Date: Sept. 1, 2026
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