This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows NGC 4423. ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun
This NASA/ESA Hubble
Space Telescope image shows NGC 4423, a galaxy that lies about 55 million
light-years away in the constellation Virgo. In this image, NGC 4423 appears to
have quite an irregular, tubular form, so it might be surprising to find out
that it is in fact a spiral galaxy. Knowing this, we can make out the
denser central bulge of the galaxy, and the less crowded surrounding disk (the
part that comprises the spiral arms).
If NGC 4423 were viewed face-on it
would resemble the shape that we most associate with spiral galaxies:
the spectacular curving arms sweeping out from a bright center, interspersed
with dimmer, darker, less populated regions. But when observing the skies, we
are constrained by the relative alignments between Earth and the objects that
we are observing.
Text credit: European Space Agency
(ESA)
Source: Hubble
Sees a Spiral Galaxy Edge-On (nasa.gov)
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