Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
This striking cosmic whirl is the centre of galaxy NGC 524, as seen
with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This galaxy is located in the
constellation of Pisces, some 90 million light-years from Earth.
NGC 524 is a lenticular galaxy. Lenticular galaxies are believed to
be an intermediate state in galactic evolution — they are neither
elliptical nor spiral. Spirals are middle-aged galaxies with vast,
pinwheeling arms that contain millions of stars. Along with these stars
are large clouds of gas and dust that, when dense enough, are the
nurseries where new stars are born. When all the gas is either depleted
or lost into space, the arms gradually fade away and the spiral shape
begins to weaken. At the end of this process, what remains is a
lenticular galaxy — a bright disc full of old, red stars surrounded by
what little gas and dust the galaxy has managed to cling on to.
This image shows the shape of NGC 524 in detail, formed by the
remaining gas surrounding the galaxy’s central bulge. Observations of
this galaxy have revealed that it maintains some spiral-like motion,
explaining its intricate structure.
A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Judy Schmidt.
Source: ESA/HUBBLE - Space Telescope
