The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of an enormous galaxy that is estimated to be twice as large as the Milky Way.

The elliptical galaxy, identified as NGC 474, is approximately 100 million light-years from Earth and is 250,000 light-years across, or 2.5 Milky Ways in length, according to images released by NASA on May 18.

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What makes the galaxy stand out, in particular, is the presence of several "shells" around its spherical cores. While scientists are not entirely sure what causes shells to exist, they theorize that they are the aftereffects of larger galaxies absorbing smaller ones in a similar way to how a pebble creates ripples upon being dropped in water.

"About 10% of elliptical galaxies have shell structures, but unlike the majority of elliptical galaxies, which are associated with galaxy clusters, shelled ellipticals usually lie in relatively empty space," NASA officials said in a press statement. "It may be that they've cannibalized their neighbors."

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The new image was taken by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys, according to NASA. Researchers also used data from Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 and Wide Field Camera 3 to develop a more thorough picture of the galaxy.

Hubble may not be the only deep space telescope for long. China plans to launch the Chinese Space Station Telescope, also known as the Xuntian Space Telescope, in 2023. If successful, it could rival the Hubble in providing researchers with insight into "distant galaxies, mysterious dark matter and dark energy, and the past and future evolutions of the universe."