Galaxies battle in ‘cosmic joust’ witnessed by astronomers for the first time

Astronomers have, for the first time, observed two galaxies in a “cosmic joust,” where one galaxy’s quasar‑powered beams of radiation are dispersing gas clouds in its neighbor. Located 11 billion light‑years away, this galactic clash is causing the victim galaxy’s ability to form new stars to weaken. The discovery, made with telescopes like the Very Large Telescope (VLT) and ALMA, confirms that quasars can disrupt star‑forming gas in nearby galaxies, CNN has reported. This rare snapshot reveals a stage of galaxy merging from the universe’s early days.