(As an aside, entering the search term "Hubble" into the Daily Mail search engine reveals that the paper has a definite taste for exotic astronomomical objects, many of which have been the subject of radically divergent interpretations between the EU and standard models of the universe. The paper does not of course describe these in any other terms except those of the standard model. Still, its presentation of those objects may be suggestive of an unconscious intuition of their scientific importance. And none more so than in its homely labeling of Arp 194 as 'question mark' - an unintended irony, no doubt).
The Hubblesite account of Arp 194 runs as follows:
Characteristic to this system is the band of matter which appears to link two distinct galaxies, described in terms consistent with the hackneyed metaphors typically used to "explain" things to the public, as a "fountain". It's a metaphor which immediately fails to fly, since a fountain emits a stream, and while the ejecta is visible, the metaphor's authors are not convinced anything is doing the ejecting. Indeed, even the suggestion that the band of matter could possible have formed under the infuence of gravitational forces is made only half-heartedly.The northern (upper) component of Arp 194 appears as a haphazard collection of dusty spiral arms, bright blue star-forming regions, and at least two galaxy nuclei that appear to be connected and in the early stages of merging. A third, relatively normal, spiral galaxy appears off to the right. The southern (lower) component of the galaxy group contains a single large spiral galaxy with its own blue star-forming regions.
However, the most striking feature of this galaxy troupe is the impressive blue stream of material extending from the northern component. This "fountain" contains complexes of super star clusters, each one of which may contain dozens of individual young star clusters. The blue color is produced by the hot, massive stars which dominate the light in each cluster. Overall, the "fountain" contains many millions of stars.
These young star clusters probably formed as a result of the interactions between the galaxies in the northern component of Arp 194. The compression of gas involved in galaxy interactions can enhance the star-formation rate and give rise to brilliant bursts of star formation in merging systems.
Hubble's resolution shows clearly that the stream of material lies in front of the southern component of Arp 194, as evidenced by the dust that is silhouetted around the star-cluster complexes. It is therefore not entirely clear whether the southern component actually interacts with the northern pair.
The details of the interactions among the multiple galaxies that make up Arp 194 are complex. The shapes of all the galaxies involved appear to have been distorted, possibly by their gravitational interactions with one another.
From the image, the following observations can be made:
(1) The connection appears real, not an accident of perspective.
(2) The upper galaxy has two connected cores, each core having arms. The band of material linking to the lower galaxy appears to connect with an arm of one of the upper galaxy cores.
(3) The lower galaxy is in fact a barred spiral type. The band of material appears to connect to the lower galaxy at one end of its central bar.
Interpretation:
Both upper and lower galaxies are structurally consonant with Perrat's simulations of galaxy formation from the interaction of Birkeland current pairs. However, the morphology of this system suggests that distinct and separate current pairs are involved. The reason we can say this is that the axial current component involved in the lower galaxy is connected with the disc current component in the upper galaxy. Were upper and lower galaxies formed by pinches in a single current pair, they would be axially aligned. The current density in the connection between upper and lower galaxies is strong enough to make it shine in glow mode (at least), and cause star formation along its length.
Conclusion:
In Arp 194 the axial current of one galaxy is feeding directly into the disc current of an adjacent galaxy.
Arp 194 demonstrates the Alfven model of a galaxy. In this model, currents circulate between the axis of a spiral galaxy and its disc in dark-discharge mode, the current densities being typically too low for illumination to occur. The unique configuration of interactions in Arp 194 makes these circulating currents visible in the optical spectrum.