Technologies

Peculiar Galaxies Collide in Haunting NASA Hubble View

Let this gorgeous galactic pair stare into your soul from deep in space.

Have you ever looked at an image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and gotten the feeling you were being watched? Take a gander at Hubble’s view of galaxy pair Arp 107 and you might get the sensation of two celestial eyes peering back.

NASA shared the extraordinary Hubble image on Friday. The two «eyes» are two different galaxies in the process of colliding with each other. Life in space isn’t neat and tidy, even for structures as large as galaxies. They sometimes run into each other, as is the case with this pair.

The large galaxy on the left is a Seyfert galaxy, a type of galaxy named for astronomer Carl Seyfert who described a category of «active» spiral galaxies back in 1943 (PDF link). These bright galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centers and pump out lots of radiation. NASA estimates 10% of all galaxies may be Seyfert galaxies.

NASA unveils 30 dazzling new Hubble space images for an epic anniversary

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The Seyfert galaxy is a spectacular sight in Hubble’s image. Note the blue spiral and lanes of fog-like dust. But it takes two to tango in a galactic collision. «The smaller companion (right) connects to the larger galaxy by a tenuous seeming ‘bridge’ of dust and gas,» said the European Space Agency. Hubble is a joint project from NASA and ESA.

Arp 107 gets its name from astronomer Halton Arp, creator of the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. That might sound like the title for a rollicking YA sci-fi novel, but it’s actually a catalog of 338 strange and delightful galaxies curated by Arp and released in 1966. Think of it as being like an Audubon guide to oddball galaxies. Arp 107 was a worthy entry thanks to the galaxies’ interactions with each other and the «bridge» between them.

Arp 107 is located 465 million light-years from Earth. The Hubble image shows how the elder space telescope continues to wow with views of the cosmos more than three decades after it launched.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 3, #876

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle No. 876 for Monday, Nov. 3.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle has some exceptionally long clues. All of them have at least two words. If you need help, you’re in the right place. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Primary color.

Green group hint: Your lungs also qualify.

Blue group hint: Parents’ nightmare toys.

Purple group hint: Look for a connection in the second word of each phrase.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Things that are red.

Green group: Things filled with air.

Blue group: Things with a lot of pieces.

Purple group: Ending with animals.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is things that are red. The four answers are clown nose, fire engine, maraschino cherry and stop sign.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is things filled with air. The four answers are balloon animal, bouncy castle, water wings and whoopee cushion.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is things with a lot of pieces. The four answers are jigsaw puzzle, Lego set, Lite-Brite and pick-up sticks.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is ending with animals. The four answers are dark horse, funky chicken, jumbo shrimp and sea monkey.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for Nov. 3 #610

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle No. 610 for Monday, Nov. 3.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is a really fun one that may take you back to your childhood. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Wee wee wee!

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Nursery rhyme counted out on a child’s toes.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

RANT, TAME, TAMES, NAME, NAMES, RATE, RATED, GORE, SAME, SPRIG, MARK

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight, but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

WENT, MARKET, STAYED, HOME, ROAST, BEEF, NONE

(Confused? Read this classic nursery rhyme.)

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is THISLITTLEPIGGY. To find it, start with a T that’s a bit hard to find. You’ll need to go over three rows from the far left, then count down six letters to find the correct T. Then you wind around and back up (see image above).