NGC 7252 is the product of two galaxies that have collided and are merging. Could this be how elliptical galaxies are formed?
About a billion years ago, two distinct galaxies were on a path toward collision. Their cosmic orbits happened to be aligned, and eventually each began to feel the gravitational pull of the other. If their orbits had been slightly different, the galaxies would have interacted, but not merged.
This galaxy has been nicknamed the ΓÇ£Atoms for PeaceΓÇ¥ galaxy, since its bizarre looplike structures resemble a schematic diagram of an atom. The name comes from the Atoms for Peace program that began shortly after World War II to promote the peaceful use of atomic
