I have never heard of anything like this until today. A galaxy, the most luminous one that has been observed in the universe thus far, is feeding off the mass from nearby galaxies. Talk about loneliness and desperation.
Galactic cannibalism is not uncommon, though this is the most distant galaxy in which such behavior has been observed and the study authors are not aware of any other direct images of a galaxy simultaneously feeding on material from multiple sources at those early cosmic times.
What will happen of this Hot DOG and the three galaxies near it? Tune in at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory.
(Image credit: NRAO/AUI/NSF, S. Dagnello)
It's not galactic cannibalism, but it's pretty good.