Photo Agency - Astronomy - Space - Nature
> Spiral galaxy NGC 4622 in Centaurus
Spiral galaxy NGC 4622 in Centaurus
author: Nasa/Hubble heritage team/Novapix
reference: a-gax46-22001
Image Size 300 DPI: 18 * 20 cm
NGC 4622 resides 111 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus. The image taken in May 2001 with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 shows NGC 4622 and its outer pair of winding arms full of new stars (shown in blue). Astronomers are puzzled by the clockwise rotation because of the direction the outer spiral arms are pointing. Most spiral galaxies have arms of gas and stars that trail behind as they turn. But this galaxy has two "leading" outer arms that point toward the direction of the galaxy's clockwise rotation. To add to the conundrum, NGC 4622 also has a "trailing" inner arm that is wrapped around the galaxy in the opposite direction it is rotating. NGC 4622 is a rare example of a spiral galaxy with arms pointing in opposite directions. Astronomers suspect that NGC 4622 interacted with another galaxy. Its two outer arms are lopsided, meaning that something disturbed it. The Hubble image suggests that NGC 4622 consumed a small companion galaxy.
Contact : Stéphane Aubin +33-(0)9-51-26-53-76
© Novapix - All rights reserved