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Spiral galaxy NGC 4651 in Coma Berenices

auteur: R.Jay GaBany/Novapix

référence: a-gax46-51001

Image Size 300 DPI: 22 * 13 cm

The Umbrella Galaxy (NGC 4651 or Arp 189) exhibits a jet­like spear that's strikingly coherent and narrow. The structure was previously reported by Boris Vorontsov Velyaminov in 1959 but never interpreted as a stellar tidal stream. This deep image additionally shows a spectacular crescent shaped shell surrounding the east side of the star system that corresponds to the apocenter of the dwarf galaxy. Interestingly, a possible second arc on the western side of the galaxy can also be seen in this image. This feature is less obvious because it's partially hidden by the galaxy's disk and suggests we are observing a moderately inclined structure projected into the halo of NGC 4651. This image was produced by combining an hour of exposure through the Isaac Newton Telescope, located on the Spanish island of La Palma, with over 13 hours of imagery obtained with the 0.5 meter telescope at the Blackbird Observatory in New Mexico (USA). This galaxy is located at about 50 million light years away.

Keywords for this photo:

2010 - ARP 189 - ASTRONOMY - COMA BERENICES - GALAXY - JET - NGC 4651 - SPIRAL GALAXY - STAR -