Early risers this month are in for a treat! Just before dawn, the bright planet Venus graces the eastern sky, and nearby, a breathtaking cosmic battle unfolds. Far in the abyss of space, 11 billion light-years from Earth, two colossal galaxies are on a catastrophic collision course!

Flying toward each other at a staggering speed of 310 miles per second, these galaxies are destined to clash, bounce back, and collide repeatedly in a dramatic celestial dance. This extraordinary sight was captured by the state-of-the-art instruments of the European Southern Observatory in Chile, and the findings were recently unveiled in the journal *Nature*.

Among these galaxies lies an awe-inspiring quasar—an astronomical entity powered by a supermassive black hole that devours nearby gas and dust, creating a brilliant luminous disk at its core. Known for their extreme brightness, quasars emit thousands of times more light than our entire Milky Way galaxy!

In this captivating image, the quasar J012555.11−012925.00 stands out on the right. As the quasar’s galaxy engages with its counterpart, it unleashes intense radiation that slices through the opposing galaxy's clouds of gas and dust, devastating their ability to forge new stars—hence the comparison to a medieval joust!

This groundbreaking observation marks the first time scientists have witnessed a quasar's radiation influencing the intricate structure of another galaxy’s gas. Sergey Balashev, co-leader of the study and researcher at the Ioffe Institute, remarked, "For the first time, we’re seeing how a quasar’s immense radiation directly affects an otherwise typical galaxy. Only the densest regions of gas survive the onslaught, potentially too small to give rise to new stars."

Intriguingly, as the companion galaxy weakens, the quasar grows more powerful, essentially fueling the supermassive black hole at its center. Balashev added, "These galactic mergers are believed to channel vast amounts of gas into the supermassive black holes lurking within the cores of galaxies."

Alongside this stunning image, the European Southern Observatory has released informative videos on YouTube, offering deeper insights into the science, a closer look at the galactic clash, and artistic representations of this ferocious cosmic event. Don’t miss this extraordinary glimpse into the universe’s chaotic beauty!