A telescope has captured creepy shots of a pair of red ‘eyes’ floating in space – and it looks like we’re being watched.
The phenomenon was caused by two spiral galaxies, located 114 million light-years from Earth, which appear close together in the images.
Known as IC 2163 and NGC 2207, the deep red and pink tones clash against the dark background of the cosmos – leading to a rather sinister appearance that has been likened to “blood-soaked eyes”.
The colors were made possible by using mid-infrared light from NASA’s James Webb space telescope and visible and ultraviolet light from the Hubble telescope, reports Need To Know.
While we are seeing them today, IC 2163 would have actually crept behind NG 2207 millions of years ago.
Red lines in the “eyelids” and the front of the galaxies are evidence of a “light scrape” – where the galaxies could have slammed together.
A spokesperson said: “The galaxies’ first pass may have also distorted their delicately curved arms, pulling out tidal extensions in several places.
“The diffuse, tiny spiral arms between IC 2163’s core and its far left arm may be an example of this activity.
“Even more tendrils look like they’re hanging between the galaxies’ cores.
“Another extension “drifts” off the top of the larger galaxy, forming a thin, semi-transparent arm that practically runs off screen.”
Each year, the galaxies produce the equivalent of two dozen new stars that are the size of the Sun, while our Milky Way galaxy only forms the equivalent of two or three new Sun-like stars per year.
Both galaxies have also hosted seven known supernovae in recent decades, a high number compared to an average of one every 50 years in the Milky Way.
Each supernova may have cleared space in their arms, rearranging gas and dust that later cooled, and allowed many new stars to form.
The spokesperson continued: “Over many millions of years, the galaxies may swing by one another repeatedly.
“It’s possible that their cores and arms will meld, leaving behind completely reshaped arms, and an even brighter, cyclops-like ‘eye’ at the core.
“Star formation will also slow down once their stores of gas and dust deplete, and the scene will calm.”
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