Astronomers have gauged the distance between NGC 3169 (left) and NGC 3166 (right) to be a mere 50,000 light-years, a degree of separation that has insured gravity would play havoc with both structures. Long ago, each galaxy may have begun as a grand design spiral with billions of stars pinwheeling around a glowing central bulge but the close encounter has jumbled this classic configuration. The spiral arms have been torn apart, and luminous wisps of gas have leached from both discs, ultimately evolving into the angry eyes seen here.