A Son of the Rock

From Astronomy Picture of the Day for 8/11/22, another amazing image.

This is a triplet of galaxies collectively known as ARP 248. Two of them are interacting gravitationally with each other as evidenced by the bridge of stars connecting them – a bridge almost 200,000 light years long. The other largish galaxy (towards the centre) is only in line of sight and is actually much further away; as are the other galaxies in the frame.