Photo Agency - Astronomy - Space - Nature
> Elliptical galaxy NGC 1132 and distant galaxies
Elliptical galaxy NGC 1132 and distant galaxies
author: Nasa/ESA/Hubble Heritage team/Novapix
reference: a-gax11-32001
Image Size 300 DPI: 29 * 32 cm
The elliptical galaxy NGC 1132, seen in this image from Hubble space telescope, belongs to a category of galaxies called giant ellipticals. NGC 1132, together with the small dwarf galaxies surrounding it, are dubbed a `fossil group` as they are most likely the remains of a group of galaxies that merged together in the recent past. In visible light NGC 1132 appears as a single, isolated, giant elliptical galaxy, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. Scientists have found that NGC 1132 resides in an enormous halo of dark matter, comparable to the amount of dark matter usually found in an entire group of tens or hundreds of galaxies. It also has a strong X-ray glow from an abundant amount of hot gas, an amount normally only found in galaxy groups. Its X-ray glow extends over a region of space ten times larger than the 120,000 light-year radius it has in visible light. An X-ray glow that is equal in size to that of an entire group of galaxies. In this Hubble image, NGC 1132 is seen surrounded by thousands of ancient globular clusters, swarming around the galaxy like bees around a hive. These globular clusters are likely to be the survivors of the disruption of their cannibalised parent galaxies that have been eaten by NGC 1132 and may reveal its merger history. In the background, there is a stunning tapestry of numerous galaxies that are much further away. NGC 1132 is located approximately 320 million light-years away in the constellation of Eridanus, the River. This image of NGC 1132 was taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Data obtained in 2005 and 2006 through green and near-infrared filters were used to produce a colour composite.
Contact : Stéphane Aubin +33-(0)9-51-26-53-76
© Novapix - All rights reserved