Cosmic Bull’s-Eye: Monster Galaxy’s Nine Rings Reveal Epic Space Collision todayheadline

In a remarkable cosmic discovery, astronomers have found a massive galaxy sporting nine concentric rings of stars – a structure so rare it’s left scientists stunned. The find offers an unprecedented glimpse into one of the universe’s most spectacular galactic collisions.

The galaxy, officially named LEDA 1313424 but nicknamed “the Bullseye” by researchers, is about two and a half times larger than our own Milky Way. Its distinctive ring pattern appears to be the result of a smaller galaxy piercing through its center like an arrow through a target, creating ripples that spread outward like waves in a cosmic pond.

“This was a serendipitous discovery,” said Imad Pasha, the study’s lead researcher and a doctoral student at Yale University. “I was looking at a ground-based imaging survey and when I saw a galaxy with several clear rings, I was immediately drawn to it. I had to stop to investigate it.”

Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, astronomers identified eight visible rings and confirmed a ninth. The discovery is extraordinary – previous observations of other galaxies have shown a maximum of only two or three rings.

“We’re catching the Bullseye at a very special moment in time,” said Pieter G. van Dokkum, a co-author of the study and a professor at Yale. “There’s a very narrow window after the impact when a galaxy like this would have so many rings.”

The collision that created this cosmic masterpiece occurred approximately 50 million years ago when a small blue dwarf galaxy plunged through the Bullseye’s center. The intruder galaxy can still be seen nearby, connected to the larger galaxy by a thin trail of gas despite being separated by 130,000 light-years.

The Bullseye galaxy’s size is staggering – spanning 250,000 light-years across, it dwarfs our Milky Way, which is about 100,000 light-years in diameter. The discovery required Hubble’s exceptional imaging capabilities to identify most of the rings, as many are clustered near the galaxy’s center.

“This would have been impossible without Hubble,” Pasha noted.

The discovery has provided astronomers with an unprecedented opportunity to test long-standing theories about galactic collisions. The spacing between the Bullseye’s rings matches theoretical predictions with remarkable accuracy, confirming models that scientists developed decades ago.

“That theory was developed for the day that someone saw so many rings,” van Dokkum explained. “It is immensely gratifying to confirm this long-standing prediction with the Bullseye galaxy.”

Understanding these ring patterns could help astronomers better predict how galaxies evolve after collisions. If viewed directly from above, the rings would appear circular, with tighter spacing near the center and gradually spreading out toward the edges.

The researchers are continuing to study which stars existed before the collision and which formed afterward. This information will help improve models showing how the galaxy may evolve over billions of years, including the eventual disappearance of some rings.

While this discovery was unexpected, astronomers may soon find more galaxies like the Bullseye. “Once NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope begins science operations, interesting objects will pop out much more easily,” van Dokkum said. “We will learn how rare these spectacular events really are.”

The research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters on February 4, 2025, represents a significant advance in our understanding of galactic collisions and their aftermath. It suggests that such dramatic cosmic impacts may be more common than previously thought, though catching them at just the right moment remains a rare opportunity.