NGC 4266, naughty galaxy

2002/02/11 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Astronomia

The image of the galaxy NGC 4266, received by the Hubble Telescope, surprises astronomers around the world. And it is that the galaxies known so far, when turning, carry behind the stars and the clouds of gas. The galaxy NGC 4266, however, has two arms or branches on the outside oriented to the direction of rotation and an arm on the inside in the opposite direction to the galaxy.

Everything seems to indicate that this smaller galaxy was formed when it ‘ate’. These two outer arms are bent, as if powered by another force, and the center of the galaxy retains remnants of the union.

According to Hubble Observatory astronomers, although the appearance of this galaxy is special, it is probably not the only one, as there are many small galaxies that cannot be observed accurately enough.

To find out more click here.