Hubble Spots Beautiful Interacting Galaxy: NGC 2276
The NASA/ESA Hubble Residence Telescope shot this image of a spiral galaxy known as NGC 2276.
This Hubble image presentations the trailing arms of the spiral galaxy NGC 2276. The color image turned into made of separate exposures taken within the ultraviolet, visible and attain-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Extensive Discipline Camera 3 (WFC3). It is in step with files got thru 5 filters. The color results from assigning a form of hues to each monochromatic image linked to an particular person filter. Image credit score: NASA / ESA / Hubble / P. Sell / L. Shatz.
NGC 2276 is located 120.5 million light-years away within the constellation of Cepheus.
Regularly identified as IRAS 07101+8550, LEDA 21039 and UGC 3740, the galaxy turned into stumbled on by the German astronomer Friedrich August Theodor Winnecke on June 26, 1876.
Within the Atlas of Extraordinary Galaxies, NGC 2276 is mentioned twice: as Arp 25 within the category ‘spiral galaxies with one heavy arm’ and as Arp 114 within the category ‘elliptical galaxies stop to and perturbing spiral galaxies.’
“A more in-depth glance reveals a strangely lopsided galaxy fashioned by gravitational interaction and intense star formation,” Hubble astronomers said.
“The contemporary image showcases the strangely contorted appearance of NGC 2276, an appearance triggered by two a form of astrophysical interactions: one with the superheated gas pervading galaxy clusters, and one with a nearby galactic neighbor.”
“The interaction of NGC 2276 with the intracluster medium — the superheated gas lying between the galaxies in galaxy clusters — has ignited a burst of star formation along one fringe of the galaxy,” they added.
“This wave of star formation is visible because the lustrous, blue-tinged glow of newly formed big stars in direction of the left facet of this image, and presents the galaxy a strangely lopsided appearance.”
NGC 2276’s contemporary burst of star formation is expounded to the appears to be like of shaded holes and neutron stars in binary programs.
“On the a form of facet of the galaxy from this burst of contemporary stars, the gravitational attraction of a smaller associate is pulling the outer edges of NGC 2276 out of practice,” the astronomers said.
“This interaction with the minute lens-fashioned galaxy NGC 2300 (no longer considered here) has distorted the outermost spiral arms of NGC 2276, giving the misunderstanding that the larger galaxy is oriented face-on to Earth.”