Gemini North reveals Twin Spirits in Pegasus

These merging spirals have been named Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola, meaning “the Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life” in Hawaiian.
By | Published: November 8, 2026

Photograph of two interacting galaxies merging into a single large, glowing white-gray, wing-shaped structure at center, with tidal arcs sweeping to the left and a bright knot of overlapping material at right. Thin orange-brown dust lanes and pink-red star-forming regions trace through the brighter parts. Many white, blue, and orange stars, some with long vertical blue diffraction streaks, and numerous small background galaxies are scattered across the dark field.
Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA. Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)
Photograph of two interacting galaxies merging into a single large, glowing white-gray, wing-shaped structure at center, with tidal arcs sweeping to the left and a bright knot of overlapping material at right. Thin orange-brown dust lanes and pink-red star-forming regions trace through the brighter parts. Many white, blue, and orange stars, some with long vertical blue diffraction streaks, and numerous small background galaxies are scattered across the dark field.
Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA. Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), D. de Martin & M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)



Three high school students in the Project Hōkūlani internship at Gemini North on Maunakea, Hawaii, chose this pair of clashing spirals, cataloged collectively as NGC 7253 or Arp 278, for imaging with the 8.1-meter telescope. It captured this photo — the most detailed ever taken of these galaxies — in October 2025. The students selected this target because it’s in a traditional Hawaiian constellation, Ka Lupe o Kawelo, or the Kite of Kawelo, located in Pegasus. In June 2026, three more interns gave the pair of galaxies a new name: Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola, meaning “the Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life” in Hawaiian. The title refers to the way that, over billions of years, the two galaxies will merge, sparking the formation of new stars and planets.

Alison Klesman is senior editor of Astronomy magazine. She holds a Ph.D. in astronomy and has studied a variety of topics, from minor planets to supermassive black holes.

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