Hubble Sees Swarm of Galaxies

A Hubble Space Telescope image released on June 12, 2026, captures the galaxy cluster MACS0329-0211, which resembles a swarm of bees returning to their hive. Zooming in reveals large, oval-shaped elliptical galaxies alongside thin spiral and lenticular galaxies seen edge-on, as well as face-on spirals with curving arms.

Faint arcs of distant galaxies appear in the image’s upper-right quadrant, stretched by the cluster’s massive gravity; the largest arc sits above the bright oval of a giant elliptical. Near the center, several bright-white intersecting curves form a distorted figure eight that may be another galaxy magnified and warped by the cluster’s gravity.

Hubble observed MACS0329-0211 as part of an observing program of X-ray bright galaxy clusters.

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