This image reveals the huge, thin tidal arms of a galaxy associated with the luminous quasar, which is 1.5 billion light-years from Earth.

The odd-shaped arms suggest an encounter between the quasar and a companion galaxy. The thick bright line above the quasar is an edge-on background galaxy.

Credit: John Bahcall (Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton) Mike Disney (University of Wales) and NASA/ESA