 Here's a Hubble look at an unusual, close-knit collection of five galaxies, called the Hickson Compact Group 40. It includes three spiral-shaped galaxies, an elliptical galaxy, and a lenticular lens-like galaxy. The whole group would fit within a region of space that is less than twice the diameter of our Milky Way's stellar disk. At current closing velocities, it is calculated that these galaxies will collide and merge to form a single giant elliptical galaxy in about one billion years. Though over one hundred such compact galaxy groups have been cataloged in sky surveys going back several decades, the Hickson Compact Group 40 is one of the most densely packed. Observations suggest that such tight groupings may have been more abundant in the early universe and provided fuel for powering quasars.