Distribution of molecular gas in 30 merging galaxies

Each of the colourful objects in this image illustrates one of 30 merging galaxies. The contours in the individual galaxies show the signal strength from carbon monoxide while the colour represents the motion of gas. Gas that is moving away from us appears red while the blue colour shows gas that is approaching. The contours together with the transition from red to blue indicate a gaseous disc that is rotating about the centre of the galaxy.