sci15001a

The interacting galaxy system UGC 12589 at a distance of 473 million light years in the constellation of Pisces, as imaged by the DECam Legacy Survey (DECaLS). The distorted morphologies of the two galaxies result from the interaction and the faint, diffuse light is from tidally stripped stars. This false-color image was constructed from the g-, r- and z-band images by Kevin Napier and John Moustakas of Siena College. DECaLS is imaging approximately one-sixth of the sky using the Dark Energy Camera on the Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory.