A striking new image of a galaxy being twisted out of shape has been captured by the NASA and European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope.
The picture shows what happened when galaxy NGC 7714 drifted too close to another nearby galaxy between 100 million and 200 million years ago.
The interaction between the two galaxies disrupted the shape of both, twisting the spiral arms of NGC 7714 out of shape, dragging material into space and causing bright flashes of star formation.
It also led to the development of a ring and two long tails of stars from NGC 7714 that feeds material to the other larger galaxy, causing bursts of star formation.
Scientists say this is not the first time that the galaxy has been disfigured, as its strangely shaped arms and hazy centre suggest it has interacted with other clusters in the past.
The scientists say NGC 7714 is situated 100 million light-years from Earth.
