Sunday, Aug 3, 2025

NGC 5907, also known as the Splinter Galaxy, might look at first like a simple edge-on spiral, located about 40 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. However, long exposures reveal a faint grey cloud surrounding it: a stellar arc stretching over 150,000 light-years into space — the remains of a small satellite galaxy, torn apart and absorbed by NGC 5907 more than 4 billion years ago. A cosmic scar, quietly telling the story of how massive galaxies like this one — and even our Milky Way — formed: by merging with smaller companions. This image was captured over the past six months in multiple remote sessions from Spain, with a total of over 12 hours of integration.