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> Spiral galaxy M100 in Coma Berenices
Spiral galaxy M100 in Coma Berenices
author: Anglo-Australian Observatory/David Malin Images/Novapix
reference: a-gax43-21004
Image Size 300 DPI: 40 * 51 cm
This dominant galaxy is the face-on spiral M100, one of the finest spirals in the Virgo cluster. As might be expected in a galaxy-rich environment, the lack of perfect symmetry in its brightest spiral arms suggests that M100 has been disturbed by gravitational interaction with its neighbours. At the top of the image is the first colour picture of a much less spectacular galaxy, a so-called 'nucleated dwarf' elliptical galaxy, probably interacting with M100. Dwarf galaxies are by far the commonest kind in rich clusters such as this, but nucleated examples are quite rare.
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