Credit & Copyright: Mike Selby
Explanation:
What kind of strange galaxy is this?
This rare structure is known as a
polar ring galaxy, and it seems to have two different rings of stars.
In this galaxy,
NGC 660, one ring of bright stars,
gas, and dark dust appears nearly vertical,
while another similar but shorter ring runs diagonally from the upper left.
How polar ring galaxies
obtain their striking appearance remains a
topic of research, but a leading theory
holds that it is usually the result of two galaxies
with different central ring planes
colliding.
NGC 660 spans about 50,000 light years and is located about 40 million
light years
away toward the constellation of the Fish
(Pisces).
The
featured
image was captured recently from
Observatorio El Sauce in
Chile.
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 |
Yanvar' Fevral' Mart Aprel' Mai Iyun' Iyul' Avgust Sentyabr' Oktyabr' Noyabr' Dekabr' |
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
|
Publikacii s klyuchevymi slovami:
galaxies - polar ring - galaktiki
Publikacii so slovami: galaxies - polar ring - galaktiki | |
Sm. takzhe:
Vse publikacii na tu zhe temu >> | |
