Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this image of PGC
10922, an example of a lenticular galaxy — a galaxy type that lies on
the border between ellipticals and spirals.
Seen face-on, the image shows the disc and tightly-wound spiral
structures of dark dust encircling the bright centre of the galaxy.
There is also a remarkable outer halo of faint wide arcs or shells
extending outwards, covering much of the picture. These are likely to
have been formed by a gravitational encounter or even a merger with
another galaxy. Some dust also appears to have escaped from the central
structure and has spread out across the inner shells.
An extraordinarily rich background of more remote galaxies can also be seen in the image.
A version of this image was entered into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Judy Schmidt.
