A new Hubble Space Telescope symbol shows a deep view of the chas of a galactic needle.
The spiral galaxy is nicknamed “the eye of the needle”, it is better known officially as NGC 247 and Caldwell 62. NASA said on May 10 that the nickname is apt given that this galaxy is a dwarf spiral, making it a relatively small organization. of stars compared to our own Milky Way.
The Hubble Space Telescope symbol shows a hole on the other side of the galaxy, which NASA says intrigues astronomers. “There is a shortage of fuel in this component of the galaxy, which means there is a lot of matter from which new stars can form,” the firm wrote.
Related: The Best Hubble Space Telescope Images of All Time!
“Since star formation stopped in this area, old faint stars populate the void. Scientists don’t yet know how this feature formed, but studies recommend beyond gravitational interactions with some other galaxy. “
The gap is the only mystery in this galaxy.
Beneath the galaxy’s disk, it can spit out some smaller remote galaxies beyond the Eye of the Needle marker of 11 million light-years, a distance close to us in galactic terms. But learning more about those remote galaxies is something astronomers are also looking for. do.
“Bright red indicates high-density dust and fuel gaps, and physically powerful star formation near the edge of the galaxy,” NASA said. There is also a bright foreground star that is in the view box.
At the center of the galaxy is also an ultraluminous X-ray source, but it’s unclear where it comes from.
“Are they stellar-mass black holes that gorge on unusually giant amounts of gas?Or are they long-sought”intermediate-mass” black holes, dozens of times more giant than their opposite stellar numbers but smaller than the monstrous black holes in the middle of the maximum number of galaxies?”NASA asked.
Independent studies of the galaxy that employ another bureaucracy of light, such as X-rays with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, recommend that X-rays come from the disk of an intermediate-mass black hole. But more studies will be needed with certainty of what happens.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or Facebook.
Join our area forums to keep talking about the area on the latest missions, the night sky, and more!And if you have a suggestion, correction or comment, please let us know at: community@area. com.
Elizabeth Howell, Ph. D. , has been editor of Space. com since 2012. As a proud trekkie and Canadian, she tackles topics such as area flying, diversity, science fiction, astronomy, and games for others to explore the universe. the site’s reports include two manned area flight launches from Kazakhstan and built-in reports from a simulated Mars project in Utah. He holds a M. Sc. doctorat. et in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota and a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Carleton University in Canada. His latest book, NASA’s Moments of Leadership, is co-authored with astronaut Dave Williams. Elizabeth first became interested in the area after watching the movie Apollo Thirteen in 1996, and she still needs to be an astronaut one day.
Get the latest local news and updates on rocket launches, aerial events and more!
Thank you for signing up for Space. You will get a verification shortly.
There is a problem. Refresh the page and check again.
Space is from Future US Inc. , a leading foreign media organization and virtual publisher. Visit our corporate website.